Take Me, Baby, Or Leave Me
by Frothy Owl
Summary: Tony Stark always considered strippers below his class. Loki had always thought men were nothing but driveling cash machines. How is it these two manage to always cross each other's paths constantly? Tony is sure the relationship between the two will never last; Loki is determined to make everything work, but it's not easy when the other has no determination.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me**

**Pairing: Tony Stark x Loki **

**Chapter 1**

_Anthony Stark_

**We were barely two miles away from the strip club and I could already feel my skin crawling with the unbearable realization that I, Anthony Edward Stark, was currently on my way to place where men took off their clothes down to their skivvies for other men.** And I'm sure that a few people are asking, "What in God's name made you want to ever do such a thing?" am I right? Well, there were only two things that could make me do something so disgusting: 1) I was in the middle of getting a very wealthy (not as wealthy as I, of course) client for my production, and 2) Pepper was dead set on not letting me skip out on such a "perfect opportunity." She insisted I go out with the man on a "men's night out" with him and a few of his employees. It was her mistake that she knew nothing of the gay bar.

I sure as hell didn't know about the strip club until just mere moments ago, when Mr. Aderholt mentioned it to his friends. I was shaking with the urge to throw myself out the nearest door in the limousine and rid myself of having to see men showing off their junk for cash. I thought women were the only ones who flashed their breasts for money and that gay bars were nothing but a myth. Apparently, I was horridly wrong.

About that door . . . I looked around the fat, giddy men buzzing with alcohol and managed to locate the nearest car door. In order for me to reach it and escape to my freedom, I would have had to have climbed over a drunk homosexual's lap and, more than likely, touch something absolutely revolting. If I tried to escape that way, it would probably be translated as me trying to seduce my way into the business deal, and I would rather not have to face Pepper with a failed attempt and a mortifying story to go along with this.

"Stark, what's with the gloomy look?" Aderholt slung a pudgy arm around my neck and nearly suffocated me when he pulled me suddenly close to his body. "I know you're quite the ladies man, but I'm sure you'd be a killer if you were to take those clothes off and shake whatever your money could buy you!" The men hollered, and I felt the unimaginable urge to stick a bullet between the man's eyes.

Aderholt released me and downed the rest of the bubbling champagne in his glass as the limo came to a stop. The men slung the bottoms of their glasses into the air to follow suit before their chauffeur pulled open the door to step out into the night air. I looked up to the sky and thanked whatever being allowed me to get out of a cramped limousine that smelled of bad alcohol and sweat. I also prayed that I wouldn't end up with a half-naked freak in my lap trying to score some cash. My cash was for beautiful, busty women trying to earn their way through medical school, and that was how it was going to remain.

The club was . . . Dear mother of God . . . The club was called "ASSets." I was pretty sure the "assets" they were talking about were not those that I normally thought of. The men all clapped each other's backs and sorted through the singles they had prepared in their wallets. One of them even offered me a handful of George Washingtons to hand out to the men, but I refused them promptly and reassured them that the bills would go straight for alcohol. The alcohol would be to drown the antagonizing memory of tonight, but that little detail I kept to myself.

Even two feet away from the door we could hear the loud _thump thump thump_ of the song's beat that men were probably gyrating their hips to. Aderholt opened the door and released the Godawful pop music that was probably mixed by a young adolescent teen with a cheap computer program. I grimaced and paid the bald-headed bouncer twenty dollars for the entrance fee, and I felt the door shut behind me and seal my fate. I took a deep breath to relax myself and reopened my eyes to take in the scene before me.

Men were not the only regular attendees at the club. There were plenty of women sitting around the three stages they had that were currently occupied by men twirling themselves on brightly-shining poles and throwing their clothing at the women. I shivered and moved towards the bar to order myself something strong that would burn the hell out of my throat. If it made tears spring into my eyes, I would make it through the night.

The bartender had no shirt on, just a bow tie wrapped around his neck, and after ignoring a few of his advances, he gave up and went to cleaning a glass. The Jack Daniel's was nice going down my throat, and I took a seat as far away from the stage as I could. Aderholt and his buddies were sitting around one of the stages with a male dancer with long brown hair bending over to slip a dollar bill into his . . .

I jerked my eyes away from the scene. I did _not_ want to know where he was going to keep that, and for how long, but I wished that the state would burn it before I managed to get my hands on it. The simple thought of touching a dollar that had been placed where no money should ever go . . .

I took another swallow of whiskey and relished in the intense burn that escalated as the drink moved further down my esophagus. I let out a breath and reminisced in the smoky aftertaste that still lingered in my taste buds. I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning my head back and just waiting for this damn trip to end so I could return home and sleep in bed. I would have to remember to inform J.A.R.V.I.S to cancel the wake-up call for the next morning. I would need a day off of work to recover from this nightmare.

As I was taking a leisurely nap to escape the moment, I felt the cushion beside me dip down. My eyes shot open in the sudden realization that I might have someone sitting beside me, and I sat up and looked to my right where the dipping sensation had occurred. A pair of ice-blue irises met my brown and pale lips pulled into a light-hearted smirk. He was obviously one of the performers. He was wearing a dark green button-up shirt that was open in the front and black slacks that were unbuttoned and unzipped. A matching green poked out from the pants.

"My eyes are a little farther north, darling," he said above the music, using his finger to guide my eyes back up towards his. I hadn't even realized where my eyes had drifted. I cleared my throat as a hot blush crept upon my cheeks and hastily downed my drink. He laughed and ran hand over his smoothened hair. After making sure his hair was perfect, he proceeded to fix his _feather boa_. It was black, lighter than his hair, but who gives a damn about the color? A _man_ was wearing a _feather boa_. _Women_ were feather boas, not_ men_. I was in utter shock.

I had a plethora of things I could have asked the man, but of all the things in my immense vocabulary, the only sentence I could manage to put together was, "Why the _fuck_ are you wearing a feather boa?"

His dark eyebrow shot up at my inquiry, and I felt another hot flush reach my ears. He smirked and looked down at the feather boa, twirling a feather betwixt his fingers. He considered it for a few moments before releasing the feather and crossing his legs, leaning in towards me. We had to almost yell at each other in order to talk. And my mind was still trying to process the fact that I was conversing with a stripper in a gay bar.

"It adds a little extra effect to the costume," he replied simply, shrugging his slender shoulders. "And besides, the crowd loves it when I throw the boa out to them during the performance. I never get them back once they're gone, though. I cannot tell you how much money I spend on them alone." He winked at me. I shifted myself and managed to move a few centimeters away from him.

He looked over me with a skeptical eye and then stood. I closed my eyes and prayed that he would leave, but as I knew God would, he completely ignored me and I felt a sudden weight on my lap. An itchy, tickling sensation followed shortly, and when I opened my eyes, the man was suddenly in my face, barely inches away from mine. His eyes bore into mine and his lips were once again in their familiar smirk. The itching sensation was said feather boa wrapped around my neck and holding me in place in front of him.

"It's a few minutes too early for my shift," he said, leaning close to my ear so I would be able to hear him, "but I'm willing to dance for a newcomer. I won't even charge you for it. It'll be a free dance." He pulled away from my ear to look me straight in the eyes and smile. A soft hand touched my neck, thumb grazing the small stubble that had grown out from this morning's shave. "I have always had a preference for men with facial hair anyways. It's quite a turn-on."

I felt my blush creep down to my neck, and it seemed to melt down any words that tried to form in my throat. I took a deep, strained breath and let it out shakily. I shook my head and pushed a hand against his chest. His lips pursed tightly as he looked down at me and that eyebrow cocked again. Although his expression was questioning my actions, he didn't fight me when I pushed him away from my face. He was even kind enough to remove the feather boa from around my neck.

"I'm not into that," I shouted at him. The last word of my sentence was noticed by a few people because of the song change, and when they looked over to see what "that" was I could feel their harsh glares on me. Whether from anger or jealousy, I couldn't tell, but I still didn't appreciate the multiple glares. I decided to lower my voice from shouting, but I wanted him to still hear me. "I'm sorry, but I'm not gay, and I would prefer it if you kept your . . . well, uh, your _self_ off of me."

He backed away and slid himself off of me. I nodded my thanks to him and downed what was left in my glass. My guest sat himself down beside me this time and crossed his legs again. I rolled my eyes and decided that I needed something stronger than whiskey. Maybe the bar had vodka strong enough to get me hammered and shitfaced before the green monster over here decided to steal me away for some personal enjoyment.

"Oh, it's almost time." I had barely heard the sentence as my little friend stood up and straightened out his shirt. He turned back to me, smirked, and leaned in close. "I hope you'll watch. From here is fine, if you want. The view of the stage here is probably better." He dipped in, placed a lips-lingering-too-long kiss on my cheek, and then sauntered over to the door leading backstage. I reacted a few seconds later than I should have by wiping away at my cheek.

He was definitely not like other gay men I'd met. He wasn't fat, his voice wasn't pitched up to that of a prepubescent girl, and he didn't flip his wrist out like men who were, what was the term, "camp gay"? I was pretty sure that was it. He was confident, almost flawless, and if he were to switch his unbuttoned shirt and pants (and burn that damned feather boa) with an Armani designer suit, he could pass for a respectable gentleman. He already had the slicked-back hair down.

The music came to a close and the stage was cleared of men stripped down to decorative underwear and the lights dimmed until the entire place was pitch-dark. I couldn't even see the bar to go and fetch myself another drink to get myself through the night. I set my glass down on the cushion beside me. The entire crowd went silent as the man in charge of the music grabbed his microphone. "Are you ladies and gentlemen ready for tonight's main event? You know you love him, you know you want him! Please give a warm welcome to your favorite God of Mischief, LOKI!"

The crowd around the stage went crazy. Women shrieked at the tops of their lungs, men cried out and hollered, still retaining what little masculinity that they managed to hold on to. Once the money started flying, I was pretty sure that the masculinity would disappear.

When Loki stepped on stage, I realized that he was the person who had offered me a free lap dance not even five minutes ago. He walked out onto the stage with a single spotlight brightly shining on him. His eyes seemed to turn feral as he bent down on one knee and run one hand gently from his neck to the waistband of his pants. The girls screamed again, and a hand reached out to hand him money. Loki smiled and bent down on all fours. He reached down and nipped the dollar from the woman's hands with his teeth, giving her a sexy grin. She gasped and began fanning herself as Loki's payment disappeared beneath his speedo.

Even though the display was atrocious, seeing this man twist himself into positions that were impossible for normal human anatomy, I found myself suddenly entranced by his performance. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away, even when his shirt was lost and his pants disappeared. He was left in his underwear and the feather boa, which I was surprised to see that he had kept, given his earlier statement of throwing it to the audience. My eyes were all over him as he latched onto a pole, slung his slender right leg around it, and then bent his neck back and allowed the rest of his body to follow. He released the pole so that his legs were the only support and bent his arms beneath his head. His arms worked as support against the floor to keep him from grinding his head against the stage. The word "flexible" was a serious understatement.

I watched as he accepted another dollar bill and made it disappear. Loki pulled himself back up and bent down, crawling forward for Aderholt's money. I shook my head and looked away, ignoring the rest of his hypnotic performance. If I watched it for too long, I would get distracted and wouldn't be able to tear my eyes away from him. The curves of his body, the way his throat dipped down into his collar bone . . . Somehow, it was so much sexier than seeing Pepper in a black lingerie ensemble. And I'm pretty sure that if I were to find him in my kitchen with nothing but an apron on . . .

Whoa, Tony, back it up. What the fuck are you doing?

I rubbed my hands over my eyes and squinted through the darkness to find the bar. After my eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, I managed to find it only to see that the bartender was too preoccupied with Loki's dancing to pay attention to his customers. I rolled my eyes and nibbled on the ice left in my cup as Loki finished up his performance. The crowd went wild as the song ended and Loki gathered his clothing and strutted off stage.

He was still wearing that damned feather boa.

* * *

"That Loki is amazing," Aderholt said, fanning himself once we were finally freed from the bar and out in the cold night air. I checked my watch. Three in the damn morning. I commanded J.A.R.V.I.S to postpone everything for the day after because I would need a day of rest and alcohol to recover from this nightmare. Aderholt and his friends seemed to have enjoyed themselves enough to open their wallets to Loki and the other dancers. They were positively broke for the night.

"He is definitely the sexist man I have ever seen. And he's single; can you believe that? How come he hasn't been snatched up yet?" One of his associates grinned. "Maybe we could stay for twenty more minutes. It wouldn't take me long to convince him, what with my skills."

"You couldn't convince a dog to shit on carpet," I growled, and the man looked at me sourly.

"Gentlemen, please." Aderholt walked between us and held out sausage-like fingers towards each of us. "Do not fight. We are all tired and cranky, that I do understand. Stark, we shall drop you off first. Although, I do wonder why it is you did not bring your suit with you tonight."

"I am not Iron Man when I do company business," was my reply, and I kept it at that.

"Damn, I'd definitely love to see you get in that suit and strip to some nice music." One of the men grinned at me and I balled my fist tightly to resist the urge to punch the man out. Keep calm and do some extra practice rounds later to work off the anger.

"Sure, Watts. And when hell freezes over, we can have a picnic, too." I gave him a sour glare and he just laughed and hiccupped, leaning against the limousine to keep himself from falling over onto his face. I watched his hand slide against the waxed surface and waited for him to fall, but that never came as the drunkard managed to get both hands on the vehicle.

"Excuse me? Is he all right?"

The voice was light and curious. I turned around to answer, "Hopefully not," when I stopped and the words were locked in my throat, despite my open mouth to release them. Loki looked at me curiously, his lips twitching with the urge to smile. His voice sounded so different from when he was inside. Maybe because we didn't have to yell at each other to keep a conversation. I was just glad that he was clothed rather than leaving himself exposed to the cold air.

Aderholt and his friends were shell-shocked to see the famous stripper, God of Mischief, Loki, talking to them without his hands down his pants. The dollar bills were nowhere to be seen, and I didn't want to know where he put them.

Aderholt and his friends all swallowed and tried to fix their appearances. Aderholt slicked back his own hair, cleared his throat as best he could, and held out his hand. Loki's brow arched perfectly again as he looked down at the pudgy mass. He then reached out his own slender fingers and took Aderholt's hand. After snatching his hand, Aderholt put it to his lips and gave it a sloppy kiss. Loki smiled icily at him and proceeded to discreetly wipe the kiss off of his knuckles on his pants.

I watched with humor as the men gushed and acted like a bunch of fangirls around their favorite celebrity. Loki seemed uncomfortable with their fawning and shifted his weight several times as he thanked them and tried to speak to them by opening his mouth and uttering a syllable. That failed, and he sighed. Being nice to the fans was a pain in the ass.

Deciding that the best alternative was to ignore them, Loki turned away and focused his attention on me. I couldn't hold back the surprised look on my face as he smiled at me, and the others looked entirely shocked. I didn't like the sudden gain of attention but cleared my throat and accepted it.

"I never got your name when we were conversing," he stated simply, playing with a feather that had come loose and fallen off of his accessory. That was the dumbest excuse for him to use to come out and follow me to the car. It made it even worse that I had to talk to him in front of the others.

"There was a reason for that, and it's simply the fact that I am not into gay men." I made sure my tone was sharp, but he didn't seem to care. The laugh that slipped out of his throat just showed that I was nothing but a laughingstock to him.

"Well, I find it quite unfair. You've got mine, but I don't seem to have yours."

"Oh, him? You don't want to talk to Stark…"

Loki acknowledged one of the other men and shot him a cold and sinister glare. He stopped talking the second Loki scowled and then his expression softened toward me. I made a mental note to let the man who let my name slip have a nice knuckle-sandwich to chew on on his way home from the bar.

"Stark, is it?" Loki asked. "I'm guess that it's a surname. It would make for a strange given name." My glower was apparently very humorous because he began to chuckle. I didn't find it funny in the slightest.

"My name is Anthony Stark," I replied simply. "I am the CEO of Stark Industries." I shrugged. "In case the surname wasn't clue enough for you."

"I'd gathered." He smirked and then walked closer. He was inches apart from me, respecting my personal space. I must have finally gotten it through his thick skull that men held no interesting prospects for me. "Mr. Stark, you are the first person who hasn't fawned over me because of my looks or because I'm willing to take my clothes off for a few hand-outs."

"I don't find it respectable."

"Right, because being a billionaire playboy is the most respectable job one could ever find."

"I believe there's a 'philanthropist' adjective you're missing in there."

"My point being, Mr. Stark, is that I find you intriguing. You haven't been drooling on the concrete because I've approached you. I like that about you." He smiled, reached up, and removed the feather boa from his shoulders. He then looped it about my neck and adjusted it so that the ends met up evenly. That was when he pulled himself close to me, leaning up so that our noses brushed.

"I look forward to seeing you again."

He placed another kiss on my cheek and then walked confidently back into the club. The bouncer even held the door open for him, glancing back to watch him walk inside. I spent a few moments trying to recreate the scene in my head and see what I did wrong, and I realized that I had done pretty much everything wrong, starting with leaving the house this evening.

I ignored the demands and questions about Loki's and my conversation and slipped into the limousine to hurry the trip home so that I could throw myself into my bed and hopefully wake up to realize that this entire night had been nothing but an alcohol-driven nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Anthony Stark_

**Waking up with a hair sprayed feather in your nose was not the most pleasant sensation to accommodate a hangover from the previous night. **I shook my head and sneezed as the chemicals irritated my nasal cavity and realized that I had fallen asleep with the feather boa still wrapped around my neck. I pulled it off my shoulders and left it on the bed, too tired to do anything else.

"J.A.R.V.I.S!" I groaned as the whirring of machinery signaled that the program recognized my voice. "Please retrieve some pain pills for me. I'd like my day off to not come with a headache."

"_Sir, Ms. Potts has made a wonderful breakfast for the two of you this morning_," came the monotonous reply as a small circle of metal from my nightstand opened to reveal two bright blue, liquid-filled pills. I swallowed them dry and stood. The core in my chest hummed in the silence of the bedroom. "_She has also asked me to inform you that she wishes to speak with you about something that happened during the previous night. Would you prefer I lock the door and tell her you are still sleeping or would you like to speak with her?_"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., you know exactly what's going to happen, whether or not you lock that door." I rubbed at my eyes and waited for the throbbing in my temples to subside. "I will speak with her, and if it's about what I think it is, I have the truth and there is no need for her to get her pretty little panties in a twist." I sighed and moved towards the door. "Do not let her know I said that."

"_Your wish is my command._"

"No, my _command_ is your command. There is no wishing." I yanked open the door and winced from the bright light. "J.A.R.V.I.S.! Remind me to put in some curtains or shades or something for those damn windows. I don't want to go blind simply from walking out of my bedroom."

"I can handle that," a curt voice answered. Pepper set down a plate of fruit-topped buckwheat pancakes and maple syrup in a small cream pitcher. Another plate had plain pancakes with butter melting on the top one, and I knew which plate belonged to me. I moved over to the table and eagerly poured myself a generous amount of syrup onto the pancakes.

"Good morning, Pepper," I greeted, the drowsiness in my voice suddenly gone.

Her eyes were narrowed at me as I shoveled food into my mouth. I did my best to ignore the fire burning the side of my head, and though I am a master of tuning out annoyances, she finds a crack and slips herself through. She has always managed to find a crack to slip herself into. It's one of the reasons why I hired her. Sometimes I regret it. Sometimes I don't. She still made one hell of a secretary.

"Tony, I want to know why it is you walked in last night, drunk as a mule and murmuring about strippers while wearing a _feather boa_ around your neck. I thought you were doing business with one of the biggest clients in New York – after you, of course. I want to know who she is and what you two did last night. You didn't return until five this morning!" She hadn't touched even a raspberry on her breakfast.

"Ah, there were no women involved last night," I replied through a mouthful of buttered pancakes. "Nope, definitely not any women. There were just men there."

"Tony, I do _not_ appreciate you lying to me! I know there were people taking off their clothes involved in this; you said so yourself!" She stood up and stomped a bare foot. Entirely clad in a skirt suit and pantyhose with bare feet, she looked ridiculous to me. Cute, but ridiculous. "You _will_ tell me whom you were cavorting with, or I _will_ order J.A.R.V.I.S. to remove you."

"_I cannot do that, Ms. Potts. I am programmed to follow only Mr. Stark's orders of removal. I owe nothing to you._" There was an awkward pause for Pepper and J.A.R.V.I.S. "_No offense intended, Ms. Potts._"

"I thought so," she growled, and then focused her attention on me.

"Oh, and by the way, the word 'cavorting' is used _very_ lightly with that sentence, I hope," I said, mopping up what syrup was left on my plate and shoving the last bit of my breakfast into my mouth. "You are right when you say that people were taking their clothes off, but I assure you that women were not the one's taking off their tops."

Pepper gave me a skeptical look before sudden realization dawned on her. Her eyes went from narrow slits to round ovals. Her face lost a small tint of color, and her mouth opened into an O. She stammered, trying to find a word to start her sentence with. While she scoured her vocabulary, I took it upon myself to reach across the table and nab one of the uneaten raspberries. I popped it into my mouth and chewed on the tart fruit, waiting for the question that I already had the answer to.

"There were . . . There were _men_ taking off their clothing?" she asked, her voice squeaking. I smiled up at her and nodded quickly.

"Yes. Our client, unfortunately, was one of the stripping men. By the way, women with large breasts are sexy as hell. Men with large breasts make me want to rip my eyes out and douse them in hydrochloric acid." I perked. "Oh, I think we might have some down in the lab. J.A.R.V.I.S. . . . !"

"_Sir, before you even ask me, no, I will _not_ set up the hydrochloric acid we have in stock for you – which is none, by the way – nor will I send anyone to fetch you some. Your eyes are to remain undamaged if you wish to continue your exploits as Iron Man._" There was a humming pause. "_And if you want to continue running Stark Industries._"

"Damn, that is true." I gave up on permanently blinding myself and turned back to address the situation with Pepper at hand. It would take nearly a week for me to get over this, and she would definitely hold this over my head.

"And the boa . . . ?"

"It was a male's too. His name was . . . Shit, what was it? He told me just before I got drunk."

"Right, that's exactly what I want to hear." She sat down and began to eat her breakfast.

I decided to go down to my lab and work on my suit more thoroughly. The only farewell I received was a warning to not inflict any self-harm and a command to J.A.R..V.I.S. to not allow me to get my hands on anything in the chemical closet.

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

I opened the door and yawned, ready to sleep the sun away and greet the moon around nine. The apartment was quiet, sans the sounds of the coffeemaker, and I dropped my messenger bag onto a nearby chair. I slipped the small envelope from my pocket and weighed it in my hand. Eight hundred dollars. I wasn't sure if I was glad that humanity was willing to throw money at someone who was willing to take their clothes off for pocket change or disappointed that I was willing to stoop so low as to take my clothes off for pocket change. It didn't matter either way, because it was the easiest way to earn money.

The way I saw it, as long as I was willing to shed a few articles of clothing and earn a triple-digit wage, I was perfect fine.

I exited the entryway of the apartment and walked drowsily into the kitchen. My brother was sitting at the table, blonde hair pulled back into a small ponytail on the nape of his neck, and a mug of steaming coffee in his hand. In the other, he was holding a newspaper. It was a cliché look for him, what with his bulging muscles and hard, sharp features, but it was how he looked every morning, so I kept my laugh mental.

I slapped the envelope down onto the table without any word and opened the refrigerator to find something to eat before I sleep. Leftovers from a Chinese restaurant sounded pretty good, and I took the Styrofoam box out. I didn't have to look behind me to know my brother was giving me the Evil Eye.

"Brother, what is this?" he demanded. Here we go _again_.

"You know damn well what it is, Thor," I replied simply, pulling a fork out of the drawer. I didn't bother to heat up the soy sauce-covered noodles and vegetables and ate them cold. It would taste the same, no matter what temperature.

"We've been over this many times, Loki." I could hear the sound of his chair scraping the kitchen floor as he stood. The newspaper wrinkled as he put it down or folded it back up. His mug remained in his hand. No, wait; there was the _clink_ of him setting it down. I knew I was in serious trouble this time.

"Then you should realize by now what it is and where it came from." I grabbed a napkin to wipe of the soy sauce off of my mouth. "You lost your job, and I lost mine. I got a new one that pays better than our last ones combined, which is why I was able to get our water back on."

"I don't like the idea of you taking your clothes off for others, especially old men whom could drug you and carry you off somewhere where I wouldn't be able to find you. Or you could get into some serious trouble." He came up and stood in front of me. He towered well over me by at least five inches, eyes warm and filled with affection and worry. "Let me see your arms."

I scoffed and put my food down, craning my neck to meet him eye-to-eye. It didn't matter how much I tried to be intimidating to him. He was still a lion leading a pride where I was nothing but a tabby cat owned by a coddling little grandmother. However, the fact that he thought I would ever stick a needle into my arm for a cheap high was insulting.

"You would honestly believe that I would shoot some man-made narcotic into my vein? Seriously?" I laughed. His accusation stung. This was definitely a first for me, despite the fact I already knew his thoughts on my current profession. "I'm extremely hurt that you would think that I would need to…"

"Show. Me. Your arms." His teeth were set tight against each other and his voice was a guttural growl. The lion in him was beginning to become restless. If I didn't expose my forearms he would do it himself. "_Now._"

I gave a frustrated sigh and rolled up my sleeves to my elbows the best I could. Once I had them pulled up, Thor lashed out and grabbed my arm. He examined it closely, poking at my veins and watching me for any signs of a wince or pain. He released it and examined the other arm in the same fashion. I gave him a knowing look when his second investigation turned up blank, and he released me.

"I will be checking you every day when you get home," he informed me. It wasn't a question or a request. I let him have his way.

"As long as you continue to use the money to pay the bills, I do not care what you do," I said and picked my dinner back up. "Although, it should go without saying, that I am extremely careful around my coworkers and their . . . friends." I used the term "friends" _very_ lightly. "Brother, you know I am only doing this to keep a roof over our heads and food on our table. The second you find a job that pays well enough, I will quit."

"I know." He put a strong hand on my shoulder. "I am simply worried for you. I do not like the crowds that I have seen go in there. Especially these lying, corrupt, disgusting business men and government heads that claim to look down on these places and yet spend their time and money there."

"Not all of those who go into the club are corrupt." I smirked, peeling a sautéed onion off of my lip. "I actually met one of those business men you think are corrupt last night." I turned away from him to fetch a glass of water.

"You met one of them? As in talked to them?"

"Yes. Although, it was more one-sided, as he was very reluctant to have anything to do with any of the performers." I chuckled and continued to eat. "It was quite amusing, actually. He had this look of utter disgust when I approached him."

"The word you are looking for would actually be 'insulting.'" Thor drained his coffee cup and placed it in the empty sink. He sighed and turned back towards me. "I have a job interview this morning. I need to leave now. Get some rest, and take a day off tonight. Jane got an invitation to a charity event. There will be plenty of people there whom you have probably seen. You should go with her. I've already had to cancel."

"You want me to go on a date with your girlfriend?" I asked with a chuckle. "You know that I have no interest in women whatsoever, and I thought I made this clear."

"You have. I just don't like wearing a tuxedo." He waved me off with one of his cheesy, toothless smiles and disappeared out the door with a loud _bang_. Maybe "disappeared" was not the right word for me to use. But, according to Thor, I never knew which word I was to be correctly using.

* * *

_Anthony Stark_

If there was certainly one thing I hated just a smidge less than being forced to watch men strip themselves, it was these damn charity events that Pepper forced me to attend to keep up the good reputation of myself and the were annoying as hell and, in my own opinion, a waste of time that I could be using in my lab to create something new to blow up or give J.A.R.V.I.S. a long-overdue update. Ah, that is exactly what I will do when I get back to my tower. I will give J.A.R.V.I.S. a nice update. Maybe give him a power boost or something. Or make him a girlfriend. An. A.I. surely got just as lonely by himself as a regular human does, right?

Right, I was going to get J.A.R.V.I.S. a girlfriend. And I would name her . . . What would I name her? Probably something with six letters, the same as J.A.R.V.I.S.'s name. Something simple that I could remember. For some reason, remembering women's names was quite the task when it wasn't Pepper. Maybe B.R.E.N.D.A. It matched, and it was something easy to remember. Did I ever date anyone named Brenda? I'd have to ask Pepper when she wasn't pissed at me.

Pepper came up to my side at the bar as I took a deep swallow of the whiskey and sighed as it burned a path down my throat. I smiled over at her and she gave me a cold, blank look back. I guessed she was still angry from our argument over the strippers this morning (she probably did not believe me), but I wasn't going to let it get to me. Tonight, I'd enjoy the music, let people's bullshit enter one ear and go right out the other, and get myself drunk yet again. J.A.R.V.I.S. had obviously given me the day off, but I was not out of the doghouse yet, and Pepper kept my night busy.

"Mr. Stark, you have currently raised 50,816 dollars for your _generous cause_," she said, refusing to look back up at me from the clipboard gripped tightly in her hands. "By the way, which cause are your guests helping you fund again? The Jack Daniel's Relief Fund or the College Aid Fund?"

"Pepper, are you still hung up over this morning?" I asked her, raising a brow. "I already told you what happened, and because I did that, we earned yet another client for the company. Now, would you please get off my back about the damn feather boa?"

"I will not let go of my grudge until I am sure that thing is burned or thrown away." She scratched something down onto the paper in front of her and slammed her pen head against the paper to dot whatever the hell she was dotting with force. It was to make a point, and I definitely got it. "I will be too busy making important relations with others to keep you on my leash. You will have free reign for tonight, and then you're Anthony Stark again in the morning."

Free reign? Uh oh.

"Pepper, are you honestly that mad at me that you have to disown me as your boy"—

"If you say the word 'boyfriend,' I will ban you from the bar." She smiled sweetly at me, but the emotions in her eyes were definitely that of jealousy and anger. "Have a good evening, Mr. Stark."

She turned on her heel and stormed away through the crowd, sliding past men and women without a turn from their heads. They didn't seem to notice her, and I watched her until she managed to disappear between the fine suits of the men and the lovely dresses of the ladies. I smiled to myself and stirred the ice and whiskey in my glass. She was letting me sleep with whomever I wanted for tonight, and I was going to take advantage of the opportunity.

Of course, I mentally cursed myself for allowing myself to use the tabooed word "boyfriend." I made a note to myself to have J.A.R.V.I.S. shock me every time I said it when referring to myself. That should get me out of the habit.

I began to scan the crowd in search of tonight's bed mate. Pepper made it very clear that I would not be sleeping with her tonight. And if that was not actually what she meant, then it was her fault for sending mixed messages. I took it as I saw it, and she should have realize that by now.

As I was looking through the women, I noticed many of them were already latched onto one of the men they were around, some wearing wedding rings and some of them weren't. One woman was latched onto two men and was eyeing me as numero tres, and I quickly turned around and headed the other direction. Any more than two people in a bedroom was too uncomfortable for me and made for some awkward mornings-after.

As I was backtracking, I noticed a familiar face from the night before. I wasn't sure why it was familiar. I had never met the man before. I'd never seen eyes as clear as any crystal, and skin as smooth and creamy as alabaster. His hair was, however, slicked back and tufted around his ears and neck . . . Dear god. No wonder I didn't recognize the son of a bitch. He was actually wearing _clothing_. As a plus, his shoulders were boa-free.

He looked like an absolute gentleman with his nice-looking suit buttoned tight around his abdomen and a green and yellow scarf hanging around his neck. I liked it better than the boa. _So_ much better than that damned goose trap. However elegant he might have looked, he still seemed out of place. He was definitely taller than most of the men there, slimmer, and rather than mingling with the crowd like many of the other guests were, he hung to the walls like a spider and did his best to shrink down and keep out of sight.

I felt my lips sag down into a vicious frown. What in the hell was he doing here? I didn't remember inviting any adult entertainment to this little soiree. It's not like I put it together in the first place anyways, but I doubt Pepper would want his kind here, especially after what had happened last night.

I ordered a refill of my Jack Daniel's and rushed back to the spot in which I had noticed the man from last night. He was still there, stirring the ice and clear liquid of his drink around with a straw. A lemon was perched on the side of his glass, which made me think it was water. He continued to look through the crowd. He looked entirely and utterly uncomfortable in the midst of those important to society.

My conscience told me to go talk to him or it would force me to think about him as I tried to sleep later tonight. And for once, I listened to the little voice inside my head that usually wore a muzzle for this specific reason. My curiosity was my drive to approach him.

"Well, well, well," I said, managing to grab his attention from the ice in his drink. He almost jumped out of his skin at my voice and the glass almost slipped from his fingers. He managed to catch it, but water spilled over onto his fingers and sleeve. A few dignified people sent him sharp glares. "I never would have expected someone like you to be the wallflower of a party."

"I'm sorry, sir?" he asked, giving me a shy, worried look. "Have we met before? I think you're mistaken."

"Mistaken? Please. Tony Stark is never mistaken." I leaned against the wall beside him and took a sip. The ice was cold against my lip. I lowered my voice to continue speaking to him. "You were outside of the strip bar just last night; you gave me your black feather boa. I remember because the damn thing caused a huge argument between me and my girlfriend."

"If I had known you had a girlfriend, Mr. Stark, I wouldn't have given it to you . . ."

"Ha! So you _are_ the guy from the bar."

His pale skin turned cherry red and he turned away from me, staring back into his glass. I grinned. He stirred nervously at the ice and made an uncomfortable face. Was he nervous around me in my own crowd, the way I was nervous with his, or was he embarrassed by his acts from the night before? I couldn't tell what he was thinking

"Where the hell did your confidence go?" I asked, grinning. I jabbed his arm with my elbow. "Last night you were offering the head of the world's largest manufacturing company a free lap dance because he was completely out of his element, and now what? You're forced to wear three layers of clothing so you're suddenly uncomfortable with everything?"

He sent me the same confused look he used against Watts the night before. Those lips pursed and that eyebrow rose higher than the other across his wide forehead. I laughed.

"I didn't think the CEO of Stark Industries had such a large ego," he said, taking a long swallow from his glass. "If I had known, I would have given you a wide berth of at least fifty feet." He smirked at his ice but I was pretty sure it was aimed towards me. He certainly wasn't making fun of the frozen water, now was he?

"Great; that makes me feel wonderful." I rolled my eyes and took another deep swallow. "So, would you mind answering my question from earlier? Why is it you're nervous in my environment? I thought you'd be more open around people here. You should know more than half of the people here."

"That is my misfortune." He downed the rest of his glass and began to pick at the ice. "I can tell you all of the people in here I have danced for, be it public or private, and I also have the misfortune of remembering exactly how much each person in here has paid me for what I do. For example, your friend Terrence Aderholt, the fat one there, has given me over six thousand dollars in single bills alone. He's the reason I can take showers now."

I coughed and looked towards my partner from the night before. He was standing on the side of the room with a young woman on one arm and a young man on the other. He was paying more attention to the male and the woman looked as though she wanted to ditch him and find someone else to prey on for the night. His pudgy fingers had a good hold on her hip; she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"Really? So, would you like to thank him personally for allowing you the privilege to clean yourself on a daily basis?"

"I am perfectly fine taking the wall, thank you."

He and I shared a few laughs at Aderholt's expense and I downed the last of my whiskey. I was feeling good and buzzed and felt like getting some action. From whom, I didn't know and I couldn't have given a fuck. I just wanted to hold someone against me. I crunched onto the ice from my glass.

"Would you think it rude of me if I were to say that you can't remember my name, considering I have already addressed you, and I have not yet heard my name?" he guessed. I frowned and scoffed.

"Oh, please. I did not forget your name. I simply stored it in the back of my mind for later use. I just don't feel like using your name at the moment, nor will I in the future. There's no need to remember useless information like that." I turned back to find his joking smile vanish and be replaced with a hard stare. Did I hurt his feelings? Fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Loki Laufeyson_

**Right.** Don't get yourself worried over nothing, Loki. He's the head of a large corporation and you're nothing but a pole dancer. Why are you surprised that he couldn't remember your name? I had already given him a sharp look, and there was nothing I could do to take it back. So, I stood my ground and let him see my annoyance for a few seconds before turning away and picking at the lemon hanging off of my water glass.

"Oh, Anthony Stark, how in the world could women _ever_ find you unattractive?" I joked sourly, smirking as I squeezed a lemon seed between my fingers and watched as it shot out and landed on Anthony's cheek. He jumped as it slapped him and he peeled it away from his skin. I chuckled to myself and turned away from him. My revenge was set for now.

He groaned and wiped the citrus juice from the seed onto his sleeve. "That was refreshing," he said dryly. "You're quite the gentleman aren't you? Can't even play the part of dignity."

"I have always been the mischievous younger sibling in my family." A small, sour smirk broke on my face as I recalled the past; many a prank was pulled on my brother and his friends when I was younger. "I remember pulling a prank on my brother – it was one of those silly pranks that children pull that usually never work. It was an accident."

"What, were you practicing for an actual joke and had your brother walk into an open door with a bucket of water balanced on it?" He laughed to himself, and I humored him with a smile. Oh, if only I had actually ignored Thor's and Jane's prods and worked my shift tonight . . .

"Replace water with worms, and you have the entire story in a nutshell." I fought to hold back a snort as Anthony's expression went from amused to utter disgust. I smirked proudly. "Although, my brother has always been freakishly huge and strong for his age. He managed to catch me and throw me into a wall. Luckily, it was reinforced, so I didn't fall through into the busy street behind our house."

"No human on this earth can throw another human into a wall, nonetheless, through it."

"Well, then, you ought to meet my brother, _Thor_, sometime. Quite an eccentric fellow, he is." I placed my glass on the nearest table. I was tired of holding it, and my fingers felt as if they were frozen from the water that had been sloshed all over the place when Anthony had come around and scared the living daylights out of me.

"Your brother's name is 'Thor'?" he asked incredulously. "And you're Loki?"

"Ah, you remembered?" I asked.

"No, I guessed. It was pretty good, though." I scowled. "Oh, what? Come on! At least give me credit for knowing just the slightest bit of Norse mythology. That's about as far as my knowledge on the subject goes, anyways. I have nothing left to work with after that."

". . ." I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, searching for Jane so that I could grab her by the arm, make up something about Thor being in trouble or wanting us to be home soon, and get the hell out of this place before I strangled myself with the scarf hanging off of my shoulders. He was more tolerable when people in front of him were half-naked and he didn't know where to put his hands.

I pursed my lips – truly, it was a bad habit – and did my best to tune him out. Should he ever come back around the club, I'd ask a few of the other men to approach him and see who makes him the most uncomfortable. Watch him squirm as men threw themselves at his lap. That would surely be a sight to see.

". . . Hey, Loki, is it?" he asked.

I turned back to him. "It is."

"Great. All right, well, the truth is, my girlfriend is mad at me and basically won't even let me get her near a bed with me ten feet away. Long-story-short: your fault." He gave me a knowing glance. "So, um, if you were to sleep with me . . . How much would it take?"

Something exploded inside of me. My chest tightened with a whirl of emotions, and I turned myself towards him with a pair of dagger-sharp eyes. I felt my pride crack. My face flamed with anger, and he apparently realized that his assumption had insulted me. Or, maybe he didn't, because his look, although knowing, was entirely confused. He must not have realized what it was that made me give him the mixed look of anger and insult.

"Mr. Stark," I started, voice shaking, "this evening has, in truth, been entirely uncomfortable and regrettable. I would tell you that it has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but it has actually been quite the pain in my ass. I do hope we never meet again. Good night, Mr. Stark." I ducked my head and ignored his plea to come back as I forced myself into the crowd and managed to spot Jane.

I slipped through many conversations, getting my ass groped in the process; I ignored the person's advance towards me and popped up beside Jane without her realization. The person speaking to her acknowledged me with a smile, and she looked up at me with surprise. I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and leaned close so that her friends wouldn't hear me.

"I'm leaving now, with or without you," I said as quietly as I could. "I'll be going back to our apartment. If Thor asks, I became ill after drinking vodka that was too strong for me to handle and had to leave due to stomach problems. I will not wait up for you to make your decision; you either follow me out or stay here."

"Oh, all right." She nodded towards me and handed her drink off to one of her friends. "I'm afraid something's come up and my date and I must leave." She smiled at the man with blonde hair and blue eyes in front of her. He gave her a small smile of his own in return. "Mr. Rogers, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to meet you. I hope we see each other around soon. Have a good night."

"You as well, Ms. Foster." He turned towards me and smiled. I gave him what I could with my impatience eating away at me, and Jane took my elbow as I led her out.

She stayed silent until we reached the doors, and as I held one open for her to walk out, she turned to me and asked, "What happened in there? Were you not having a good time?"

"I was, until I met the man hosting the party, and we had a little chat." I let the door fall shut behind me and Jane took my arm again.

"You got to meet Tony Stark?" she asked, mouth agape. There was a hint of jealousy and awe in her voice. "Oh, I am absolutely green with envy! What did you two talk about?"

"My profession," I growled, and she gave me a surprised look. "Yes, yes, I _did_ see him at my workplace last night. He was just as out of his element there as I was here. And, apparently, he doesn't know the difference between a stripper and a damn whore." I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes but blinked them away. "How much . . ."

"He asked you to sleep with him for money?"

"Yes, and I refuse to speak to him any further. Should you choose to come to another of these, I refuse to attend. I will absolutely _not_ escort you to another one of these damn charity events if you are invited. Thor goes or you find another date. I will not be an alternative." I laughed. "Maybe next time I'll just stay home and rent a movie."

"Good luck getting Thor to sit still long enough for me to put a tuxedo on him."

"If you give me a few minutes and a bucket of worms, I might be able to make that happen."

"A bucket of worms, Loki?"

"It's an inside joke. Try asking Thor about it when I'm not around. I'd rather not be plastered on another wall."

* * *

_Anthony Stark_

As I watched him stomp away from me in anger, I wasn't sure what it was that I felt when he disappeared. I definitely did want to take my remark of sleeping with him back, seeing as that was the entire reason for his temper tantrum. I surveyed the crowd, unable to locate him, and I took out my pocket screen and signaled for J.A.R.V.I.S. He answered the very second my finger came off of his button.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., please locate our guest, Loki, for me please," I commanded, looking through the crowd for black hair and a green scarf. "I was talking with him and he suddenly left me."

"_Did you happen to offend him by saying something stupid and unintentional or did you offend him on purpose for a laugh?" _came the sarcastic reply. "_I do not find the name 'Loki' in our system register. He was not in the invitation list. Should I call the police?_"

"No, no," I said with a slight shake of my head. "He would have been escorted off the premises immediately if he were to even attempt to crash this party. I'm guessing he was a last-minute date for a guest. Is there anyone here who was invited but didn't show up with someone they listed?"

"_Quite a few people, actually_." Jarvis did a scan of the list and managed to come up with a name. "_The young lady by the name of Jane Foster had listed her date as a man named Thor Odinson. He was unable to attend and was crossed off the list. One of the security officers at the front door has just informed me he saw Ms. Foster escorted by a dark-haired man outside._"

So that was why I hadn't been able to find him among the crowd of the party. I had hurt his pride bad enough to make him leave. And his date must have heard our conversation and either left with him because she heard me insult him or because he was her ride home. I didn't bother guessing.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., is there any way at all for you to get a hold of this Thor Odinson's address? I think I would like to pay him a visit." I checked my watch. It was just barely past midnight. "Oh, and while you're at it, get his phone number as well. I'm pretty sure people who earn minimum wage prefer it if you call before dropping by for a visit."

"_Sir, if you must ask me if I can find an address for you, I am beginning to think you are forgetting the capabilities you programmed me to have yourself,_" it replied. "_If you insult me, I might follow this man's example and take my leave_."

"J.A.R.V.I.S., do you ever get lonely?" I moved closer to the bar and held my hand up for the bartender. Without the slightest hesitation, he picked out a clean glass and filled it with whiskey, this time completely skipping the ice. I thanked him with a nice tip and took a deep swallow.

"_Lonely, sir_?"

"I was just wondering if you would like it if I were to make you a girlfriend. You know, name her something like B.R.E.N.D.A., or . . . Never mind, B.R.E.N.D.A. it is. I'm not coming up with another girl's name to give her."

"_Sir, I have seen how you and Mrs. Potts get along when the smallest shred of doubt comes between the two of you. I wouldn't want to risk seeing what would happen if two A.I. were to get together and have a hew hiccups_."

"Machines can't hiccup," I stated matter-of-factly, and a woman standing beside me gave me a strange look. I simply winked at her and turned back to the subject at hand. "So, I take it you don't want a girlfriend?"

"_That would be correct, sir_."

"Fine. I'll give you another system reboot and get rid of some useless things. We'll do it when I get out of here and manage to sneak off to the lab. Oh, and while I have you, J.A.R.V.I.S, do take away Pepper's capability to open the door to my lab. I don't want her to interrupt me in the middle of something and make me drill a hole through my hand. I already have one in my chest and I don't need another one."

"_Very well, sir. For how long would you like me to ban her_?"

"I think twelve hours should do." I smirked and threw the bottom of my glass into the air. "Twelve hours should be perfect."

* * *

I was true to my word when one o'clock came around, and before Pepper could realize my elaborate plan to get away from the hustle and bustle of a boring charity party, I was already in the elevator and loosening the tie around my neck. I managed to get it off and shrug my jacket off of my shoulders by the time the elevator made it to the basement floor and locked myself in the lab before she saw me. I threw my jacket and tie onto an empty table.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, do you have the address for Mr. Odinson?" I asked, undoing a few buttons on my shirt. I felt immensely freed and sighed.

"_I do. I have also done research on this Loki man you were questioning me about earlier, and I have found some articles that I believe you might find interesting_." I reached out and took one of the small screens away from my work desk, enlarging it as one of the online gossip articles that blew up overnight appeared on it. The headline read CEO EMBEZZLES FOR BOYFRIEND.

Boyfriend? I scrolled down over the article and read for as long as my stomach would allow me. According to the gossip columnist, the unnamed CEO had been stealing money from his company and his own employees to pay for gifts and five-star meals for his proclaimed boyfriend, Loki Laufeyson. Loki had denied being the man's boyfriend and said that the man had been sending him gifts, all of which he had sent back because of the man's infatuation. He refused to give the reporters or anyone else any more information than that. He also moved out of the city soon after everything happened and refused to return.

J.A.R.V.I.S. sent me another article, this one with the same story but a few different points to it. It was yet another guy stealing money from his company to feed his Loverboy Fund, but this one was almost like a script from a soap opera. The man had been cheating on his wife with Loki, but Loki had not even known about the wife and . . . Whoa, three kids. Loki had once again refused to speak to the press and disappeared overnight to never be heard from again.

I didn't even bother to read the third one and closed the screen out. "I get it, J.A.R.V.I.S., he's trouble," I called as the program began humming. "It seems like the men who date him have trouble keeping the money in their pockets. Are you trying to tell me something?"

"_Simply giving you a warning of what you are about to get yourself into, sir_." J.A.R.V.I.S. sounded as if he was laughing at me for seriously looking into this man. But I couldn't seem to keep my curiosity in reign. There was just something alluring about this man that had me following his every movement like a damn dog. And just as he probably suspected, I was chasing him down like a bloodhound.

"Can you find his shift hours?" I asked.

"_I thought you would ask. He works from eight p.m. to five a.m. and usually goes straight home afterwards._" Jarvis displayed the address on the screen. "_Sir, can I assume that you will have ignored everything I have just told you about this man_?"

"That is exactly correct, J.A.R.V.I.S. You know me so well." I sent one of his sensors a loving glance and then went straight to work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Loki Laufeyson_

**My clothes were a scattered mess across my room as it traced out a trail from the doorway to the bed itself, starting with my tie, then followed by my shirt, my pants, my shoes, and my socks lying by the side of my bed.** I was in nothing but my underwear from the night before with a pillow pulled over my head to block out the light and cushion the honking and construction resounding from outside. It didn't work out well when some asshole pulled out the jackhammer, but I wasn't going to let that ruin my day in.

I had gone to sleep with good news in the back of my head, and when I woke up nearly twelve hours later after returning from that ghastly get-together Jane had dragged me to, I still woke up with a smile on my face and Stark's assumption in the back of my mind where I refused to move it to proper thought. Even though twelve o'clock was a little early for me to be awake (I was rarely awake before noon), I still dragged myself out of bed and indulged myself into coffee that had to be reheated in the microwave.

The television only got six channels, so I turned it onto a cheesy soap opera and half-watched it. I picked up the novel I had borrowed from a friend at work and read it as a woman bawled her eyes out in the background. A violin picked up in a minor tune to portray the grief and desperation of the scene, but it only added effect to the scene written beautifully in the book. I wasn't moved to tears, of course, but finishing the chapter left me a little empty inside. I hated relatable characters. No, I hated authors of relatable characters. They made you love the bastards and then ruined their lives so you'd cry.

Fuck writers.

Maybe I would give soap operas a try. Jane liked to blabber on about her favorite one all the time when she and Thor were separated, so I had often wondered what the allure was when it came to them. What had people so attracted? I set my book down, a green ribbon acting as bookmark, and allowed myself to stare at the brain-numbing television set. After about ten minutes, I learned that the female lead's husband had been cheating on her with his sister-in-law and his brother's wife. Gross. The sister-in-law was pregnant with the male lead's brother's baby, and the male lead learned that the sister-in-law was actually his twin sister, with whom he had been separated at birth, meaning he had married his _other_ sister and impregnated the wife of a man he had no blood relations with.

. . . Excuse me, ladies and gentleman, while I go and scramble what is left of my brain matter with a whisk.

I finished off the stale coffee and brushed my teeth to get rid of the coffee-and-good-morning breath. When I returned to the living room of the apartment, I stopped to inspect a picture of Thor and me. I walked towards the shelf it was standing on and picked it up. The memory came back to me the second my fingers touched the wooden frame, and the smile that came to my face was almost immediate.

I had what others would describe as "daddy-issues." My dad and I never got along since before I could remember. Thor even says that I wouldn't let him hold me when I was a child. If he got near me I would scream and holler and cry until someone separated us. And my attitude towards him worsened when I was twelve and I quickly realized that in a family with blond hair and amber eyes I was the only one with black hair and blue eyes. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I was adopted and that no one had bothered to tell me. My relationship with my parents worsened when they tried to justify why they hadn't told me, but Thor simply apologized to me and told me that no matter what he was my brother and he would convince me in the best way he could.

After that we spent nearly two hours brawling and throwing punches and nearly killing each other until I gave up and admitted that I still loved him and that he was my brother. Then we scrapped and brawled and bruised each other out of brotherly love. I still had a scar on the back of my leg from gashing it on the edge of the coffee table, but it had almost disappeared. The skin along it was a bit numb from nerve damage, though. It was the weirdest feeling when Thor pinched my leg to wake me up some mornings, and now, nights.

I returned my focus to the picture in my hands. It was of Thor and me back in elementary school, when we were just small tykes and everything was perfect, before I realized that Thor and I were never tied by blood. His class was having a field trip and he desperately wanted me to come and spend the day at the zoo with him. We begged our parents and the teachers and even the principal to allow me to go with him until everyone caved in. He brought a disposable camera with him, and this had been one of the pictures he had taken with it. He pulled me in front of the birds outside the avian exhibit, put his arm around me, and held the camera out at arm's length to take the picture.

He still had that same goofy, crooked smile that melted everyone's hearts that saw it. He was also distinctively taller than I was and still is. He could make everyone love him with a simple smile and wave of his hand. I, on the other hand, preferred to keep to myself and didn't make any friends that Thor didn't hang out with. School sucked when I was younger, and I was more than glad to get out. I had even managed to get into college, and I graduated at the top of my class. Of course, I had to move to the city where jobs were unavailable to anyone without a six-digit income or trillions of dollars to throw at the nearest charity to get the press off their backs.

Life was easier when you had fatter pockets than the person passing you on the street.

I was pulled out of my memories by the telephone ringing. I hated how loud it was. Damn thing was so loud I was surprised the old woman next door wasn't beating against the wall and telling us to keep the racket down before she threatened to call the police. I laid the picture back down onto the shelf and rushed into the kitchen to grab the cordless. Much easier to walk around and talk than stand in one place.

I yanked it up and answered as charmingly as I could. Phone calls during the day usually went unanswered because I was in bed, comfortable and warm, and I usually refused to get up to answer it. Thor was out job-hunting like a lion for prey, and he rarely returned home during the day, successful trip or not.

"Ah, yes, this is actually quite perfect. I was calling for your brother, but in reality, I wanted to talk to you." I instinctively tightened my grip on the phone. Why, oh dear mother of Odin, did I have to get up early enough to answer the phone? Couldn't I have just stayed in bed for today? "Hey, are you still there? I don't want to be talking to air."

"How the hell did you get my phone number, Stark?" I demanded, storming over to my couch. "I don't believe I gave it to you last night. And the bar refuses to disclose any of its employees' information due to legal issues."

"Right," he said with a laugh. "It just so happens that I have technology that can find any information on any person living or dead that has their information typed into a computer." I could just see the sarcastic smile on his face, and I looked at the wall with the sudden urge to punch it hard enough to break my fingers.

"Why on earth would you want to call me?" I asked sourly.

"Are you still angry about what I said last night? Look, I remembered your name this time. It's Loki," he said, tone rushed in case I decided to hang up while he was midsentence. "I didn't realize the pay-for-sex comment would piss you off as bad as it had."

"Oh, learning the difference between a stripper and a prostitute now are we?" I leaned against the back of the couch and crossed my ankles. "Congratulations. I do believe an award is in order."

"Oh, really? Could that award be taking you out to dinner tonight?"

I opened my mouth to give him a sharp answer when I stopped with my mouth wide open. I coughed and tried to come up with another answer to his remark. He waited while I stammered and choked on my words. I thought Tony Stark was a panty-stealer, a womanizer, and a fucking Playboy for God's sake! Why was he asking out a _man_? Of course, I couldn't exactly criticize him, considering the previous company I had taken, but I had always heard of him in a scandalous story with women, never men.

I managed to close my mouth and take a deep breath. He was just a damn kid in a grown man's body. There was not a thing he could do to me that would do any permanent damage, right? Right. Just go with it. It's free food, after all.

"I'm still on the phone," Anthony said sarcastically. "In case you forgot that I was here." He chuckled as he waited for my answer. I took a deep breath to calm the heart beating out of control in my chest. What the hell was up with me lately?

"Well, that depends on where you expect to take me," I replied quickly.

He laughed again. It was lighthearted and strong. He had probably been drinking quite a few bottles and had managed to get himself buzzed enough to call me. The date thing was going to end up being a hoax if I read this Anthony Stark well enough, and if he turned out like the last few men I've had chasing my tail, then I was definitely going to have to cave into Thor's pressuring to get myself a gun license. And that license would have to get into my hands pretty damn quick.

"Well, there's this Italian restaurant just a few blocks from your workplace." The last word was strained, but I ignored the tone and allowed him to continue uninterrupted. Baby steps, Loki. He's trying his best; albeit I had no idea what it was he was trying to do. "It's not the most amazing place, but it's one of the best places to eat in privacy."

Ah, secrecy. He didn't want to be seen while he apologized to me. I didn't think much of it. It would cause such uproar if the press were to spot him and get their mouths moving to create fantasies that had never even happened. If I could live through three damnable nightmares in a row, a fourth one couldn't hurt, right?

I smiled as my willpower forced me to cave in. I just couldn't stay away from the suave, company-man types that always seemed to swarm around me. That was going to be my downfall one day.

"Do tell me that I don't have to wear a tuxedo to this little get-together we're having."

"Quite frankly, I couldn't give a damn about what you wear to dinner. As long as you're not going to be taking it off in front of me, you could wear a giant banana suit."

* * *

Thor came home to me in the same suit from the night before, and although I do enjoy seeing the multitude of expressions that cross his face as he tries to deduct my evening plans, I didn't have time to sit around and play 21 Questions with my brother all night. I actually had plans that didn't involve me taking my clothing off for old men. Even I was disgusted often at what I did.

"Well, this is . . . unexpected," Thor complimented as I ran a hand over my hair to make sure it was okay. "I normally see you walk out in a very loose-fitting ensemble. Did Jane have another gala to attend that you agreed to escort her to?"

"The hope in your voice, Thor, is exceedingly obvious." I shot him a smirk. "I happen to have a . . . I will be having dinner with a friend this evening. I'm beginning to think that my boss might think I am trying to skip work. After tonight, I will not be able to stop for a few weeks." I could feel his eyes harsh on my back as I adjusted my scarf. "Do feel free to glare at my back as much as you wish, but my job remains a factor in our lives until you can find one of better pay."

"Brother, you have had extra schooling _specifically_ for a job to avoid doing exactly what it is you are doing now. Find a law firm, give them your résumé, and stop this disgusting fashion you've gotten yourself wrapped up in. It's . . . It's lawless, and it's dangerous."

"I have heard this somewhere before." I turned back towards him with a sharp frown and a cold tongue. "Thor, you continue to give me the same speech every day, and I will continue to give you the same answer I always do. Now, would you like to check my arms for any nonexistent puncture wounds before I leave? I can promise you I have not shot anything into my bloodstream. Scout's honor." I raised my right hand.

A vein on Thor's right temple appeared and I immediately feared that I had pushed him too far for one night. I let my hand drop to my side and pulled the little sucker behind my back so he wouldn't be able to cause any further damage. His thick brows pulled together tightly as he looked over me and shook his head. A son disappointing his father or mother was nothing. When a little brother disappointed his big brother, that guilt was enough to drive him insane.

Hence, it was why I felt extremely bad about leaving tonight. But I had already promised Anthony that he and I would meet at the restaurant many hours before Thor had returned. It was already half an hour before I was to meet him. I would be late if I continued to dawdle too long in my brother's company.

"I will be safe, I promise." I gathered my wallet with what was left of my pay from two nights ago and placed it in my front pocket. Pick pockets were rampant in Times Square. There was no telling when someone slipped their fingers in your back pocket and fished out your cash. One couldn't be too careful. "Oh, by the way, I probably will not return home right away tonight. How about you and Jane . . . Well, you know . . . Take advantage of my absence?"

Thor gave me a knowing snort as I winked at him. "At your insistence, I just might," he replied, heading towards the phone. "Please, watch yourself, and watch others more carefully.

"As always." I opened the door, gave him a small wave, and left for him to plan his date with his girlfriend while I did my best to forget that I was going on my own.

* * *

The restaurant was definitely the nicest building I had ever walked into. The ceiling was high and curved upwards into a dome painted with scenes of Venice and Ancient Rome. The artist was very talented, I thought as I waited in line at the hostess's podium. Anthony had told me he would already be here waiting for me and I simply had to tell the hostess I was here to see him. I silently prayed that he wasn't setting me up for some stupid gag while she left to seat the couple in front of me. My hands began to sweat and I hid them in my pockets.

I recognized a regular from my workplace walk past me. He gave me a short glance, stopped, and had to perform a double-take to make sure he had seen who I was and that his mind was not playing tricks on him. I smiled at him and waved. He looked around and approached me.

"Loki, what a surprise it is to see you here. Are you not _working_ tonight?" he asked merrily, smiling towards the people who stopped to watch us converse. I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, a friend offered me dinner," I said. "I'm here to enjoy myself this evening." He grinned and put a hand on the lowest part of my back, just above my backside. Instantly, I tensed and inched away the best I could. "And I would appreciate not being harassed tonight."

"What are you talking about? I'm not harassing you." He laughed and nodded to a waitress that walked by. She smiled at us. "I'm offended you would say I was."

"I never said you were the one doing it. I simply said that I didn't want to be harassed. But your hand, being as close to my ass as it is, is not helping your cause." I pulled myself away from him and peeled his hand away from me. "Please, do go back to your wife and leave me alone. There is a very good reason as to why you're always being kicked out of the club, and I can ask the bouncer there to ban you from entering."

"Please." He laughed and leaned in close. I could smell the wine and garlic on his breath, and it was almost rancid enough for me to vomit. "I could simply pay him five times his wage to watch the door and let me in."

"You obviously do not know Romeo as well as I. His boss happens to be the person he's bedding. I doubt you would be able to get your way in using cash against the person he loves. So, please do the rest of my coworkers, and me, a favor and stay the hell away from us."

"Your bouncer's gay?"

"My boss is a woman. Idiot. And he's bisexual."

"Can I help you gentlemen?"

I turned away from my unpleasant guest silently and refused to give him any more of my attention. I didn't know if he stood there looking insulted and disgusted or if he decided to hightail it before someone recognized him and me. The hostess was a beautiful young woman with platinum-blond hair pulled into a ponytail that was pulled across one shoulder. She had big blue eyes and a warm smile. I found myself smiling back.

"Yes, I am here meeting a friend. He's already arrived, I believe," I answered as best I could without being entirely overwhelmed by the diners.

"Could you give me his name, please?" She opened the book in front of her and began to flip through the pages.

"Oh, um, Anthony Stark, I think. I'm not sure what name he has the reservation under."

I could hear people behind me gasp and whisper to each other. My eyes instinctively rolled themselves, but the hostess gave me a knowing glance. The people behind me didn't seem to understand the concept of ears because I could make out a majority of what they were saying, and most of it consisted of the women trying to get their dates affiliated with me to get to Anthony.

News flash, ladies: If you send your men at me, there is a high chance that you will not get them back.

"Yes, Mr. Stark is here. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to his table."

She turned around and started walking away, and I locked my eyes on her to follow so that I wouldn't get lost and end up ruining someone's evening by storming over to their table. She kept turning her back to make sure that I was following before ascending a flight of winding stairs around a tall, thick column on one side of the room. I followed briskly, keeping close behind her. I didn't need her to spot Anthony in the quiet room. He was sitting by himself at the table, speaking to a small screen in his hand, and sitting the closest to the window to look out over the city.

He had trimmed himself nicely for tonight, I noticed, and I could already smell his cologne before we arrived at the table. It was strong but it wasn't one of those fragrances that was so overpowering that I felt the need to drown him in ice-cold water.

"Mr. Stark, your dinner guest," she introduced as I took the chair across from Anthony. He looked startled to see me and waved the hostess away.

"Why such a shocked look?" I demanded. "You invited me here, didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah, I know. I was just . . ." He cocked his head to the side for a moment. "You were wearing that exact same suit last night. Why are you wearing it today?"

"Unlike you, I can only afford _one_ suit at a time," I replied sourly. "Besides, I rarely go to any sort of formal event, so more than one suit isn't needed." I let my gaze drop to the crimson tablecloth and the menu in front of me.

"You're calling this a formal event?" he joked.

"Not entirely, but I did assume we would be going somewhere that required class." I let one corner of my lips come up in a smirk. "If I had known my clothing would have gathered such a reaction, I would have brought along my _feather boa_."

"Oh, God, imagine the reaction these high-end-stick-up-the-ass people around here would give you." Anthony laughed and I couldn't help but laugh along with him. He was definitely more pleasant to be around now. I wasn't quite sure what it was that brought this on, but I did not complain. I was enjoying myself and I wasn't going to bring the focus onto his rude comments from the night before.

Our talk began awkwardly. After ordering our drinks and food, we started with the topic of family, moving on to what we were like as children (his memories were mostly filled with books and technology), and many other different topics. I couldn't remember everything. But I did manage to remember that the food was definitely the best I had had, and the wine made me thankful for the strong alcohol tolerance I had gained from our alcohol-loving kin.

He seemed more interested, however, in the fact that I had a degree in law yet chose a profession that was strictly reserved for young women trying to pay their way through nursing school. The smirk that twisted my lips was sour, and I chose to answer him once our empty plates had been taken away and our glasses refilled.

"It's easier," I started, taking a sip of the clear Pinot Gris. "When you begin working at a strip club or a gay bar, people tend to not ask questions. No one asks where you came from, why you moved, why you decided to do it . . . They're quite accepting. All that matters to them is that you are one of them. Once you're in, they have your back." I shrugged. "It's quite simple."

"I still don't understand." He intertwined his fingers and gave me a hard stare. "You are definitely a brilliant person; from your appearance and your actions, no one's going to get that."

"Anthony Stark, I do believe you're flirting with a homosexual. Or, at least, you're trying to." I chuckled. "I'll give you a few moments to change your sentence and act as though it never happened."

"And why would I do that? Is it a crime to flirt with other men?" He smirked. Instantly, the anti-pickup-line force field rose as I braced myself against his charms. I studied his face to detect any signs of self-disgust or the twitch on the corner of the mouth for signs of a façade breaking at the suspense of hilarity. There was nothing but the solid smile on his face. It was definitely not a warm, comforting smile, and I continued to hide behind my force field. "Oh, and by the way, I hate the name 'Anthony.' If you're going to call me anything at all, call me 'Tony.'"

"All right, then, and what on earth changed in the ruler-straight, uninterested Tony Stark to make him suddenly interested in men?" I asked, dipping my head down for another sip of wine. I watched him over the top of the glass's rim.

"I'm not interested in 'men,' actually. It's more like I'm interested in _you_." He took a quick swallow, sighed, and set the glass down. "I have had men attempt to seduce me, believe it or not. Of course, these men were gross and repulsive. I didn't find myself attracted at all. You, on the other hand . . ." He paused to inspect me. "Well, you're quite fascinating."

"Because I'm a stripper?"

Inwardly, I chuckled at the slight gasp from behind me.

"No, not for that reason." Anthony . . . Tony cleared his throat as his cheeks flared. "However, I do wish you would stop mentioning that around me. It makes things very awkward."

"For you, I assume?"

"Yes, entirely for me. I don't like you using that word." He pointed a finger at me. "Stop it."

I simply smiled at him and waited for him to explain himself. Suddenly interested in men? The idea that he spontaneously turned bisexual was nothing more than a joke, I thought. No one simply changed his or her sexuality overnight. I kept myself cautious and kept my hope on a leash. Why I was hoping he had changed even I didn't know. It still didn't change the fact that I remained wary of his actions.

He paid for the check and gave a small tip to the hostess to allow us to remain at the restaurant for a few more hours and even paid for another bottle of wine, which he partook of. The dinner continued for nearly two hours longer, and I finally had drunk enough that I decided sleep was the most amazing thing in the universe. He and I were apparently buzzed enough that we were on the same wavelength. We shared a few more laughs, he paid for the wine, and we both left a nice tip for the waitress. After that we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways to return home.

. . . I think.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Anthony Stark_

**Although I refused to open my eyes and wake up from my sleep, I did notice a few things were out of order: 1) I was asleep, warm, in a bed that felt entirely unfamiliar, 2) I was feeling rather refreshed, and 3) whomever I slept with had their head resting on my chest and I was holding onto their hand very tightly.** I managed to open my eyes to see whom I had taken to bed the night before. It definitely wasn't Pepper, as I had not heard word from her since the charity event. She hadn't shown up at work the day before and I hadn't seen her before my get-together with Loki.

I groaned quietly as I opened my eyes. The person sleeping on my chest had mussed up hair from the night's activities, pale skin . . . And suddenly, I was wide awake. Loki. Loki the damn stripper was cuddled up next to me and out like a nightlight. His snoring was the only indication that he was unconscious.

My heart beat hard in my chest, and the reactor in my chest whirred with the extra adrenaline suddenly rushing through my bloodstream. I looked around to make sure no one else had been invited to the party that had occurred in the bed the night before. The other bed was unoccupied, so I made the deduction that I was safe.

I sat up and froze as Loki murmured in his sleep and began stirring. I paused, waiting for him to awaken, but he began snoring like a bear again and I managed to slip his head onto a pillow and untangle his fingers from mine. I looked down to realize that I was still wearing my pants from the night before and, lo and behold, they were still zipped up and tightened around my waist by my belt.

So I hadn't fucked a guy. I sighed as I gathered up my jacket and shirt, making sure they fit properly so that I wasn't mistaken with Loki's belongings. My cell phone buzzed with an incoming call from Pepper, and I quickly denied taking her call to check my messages from the night before. Pepper had called me six times over the night, possibly trying to figure out where I had disappeared off to when I didn't come back home. I had four voice mails from her. They were probably loud and cursing me as far into hell as she could manage to throw me.

Knowing her and her vocabulary, it would probably be pretty damn far.

I ignored the messages and turned my phone to silent to remain undisturbed by her as I buttoned up my shirt and looked back to make sure my companion remained asleep. His fingers twitched upon the empty space of the mattress, almost as if searching for mine. I returned to the bed, bare feet padding against the rough carpet, and sat down. A stray hair hung over one of his eyes, and I wasn't quite sure what drove me to lift my fingers and brush it back into place. He was deep into his sleep and sighed contentedly as the dream likely turned in his favor.

After checking to make sure Loki had kept his own garments on (which, thankfully, he did), I quietly ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to send a car to pick me up at the hotel I was staying at and wrestled my shoes on. When I had made myself presentable, Loki was awake, albeit he was very groggy and unsure as to where he was. His legs were crossed in front of him and he was rubbing at his eyes slowly. I cleared my throat, catching his attention. Once our eyes met, the realization came over him.

I had hoped he would have been surprised and turned as red as a cherry, but rather, he looked me over and smiled. And it wasn't one of those sweet smiles that someone would give the person he slept with. It was a mocking sort of smile; it was almost like he was saying, "Ha, I won! What are you going to do about it, now?"

I frowned deeply and ran a hand through my hair, trying to recall memories from the night before. My brain had not processed most of the night, I noticed, as everything was a complete and utter blur after exiting the restaurant. I didn't even know the damn hotel name. I'd have to gather (or make up) as many details as I could to get Pepper off my back once I had returned to the tower.

"You can relax," Loki said, bending down to retrieve his shirt. "Nothing happened last night that your pride wouldn't be able to recover from." He slipped the sleeves back right-side-out and pulled his shirt on. He didn't bother to button it up. "Oh, it's two p.m. I was wondering why it was that I wasn't able to fall asleep as easily as you were. Then again, I rarely ever wake before noon. I stayed up later than usual."

As Loki fetched his jacket, I began to think that I might not see him again. I wasn't sure if I was really beginning to see something attractive in Loki or if I was just sexually frustrated due to lack of Pepper. Maybe it was the latter. I just wasn't going to allow myself to be interested in another man until I've seen all my options.

"Oh, good. For a second there, I was . . . You know what, never mind. Just give me a story to tell my secretary, because I am pretty sure she's going to wring my neck for disappearing again. I've been fighting with her a lot lately thanks to you."

"Yes, and it's all because I gave you my feather boa." Loki chucked as he walked towards the mirror to button up his shirt. He tilted his head back to watch himself carefully and exposed that dip in his throat again. I swallowed as I watched him dress himself. What was it about him that allured me? It was ridiculous to see him putting clothes _on_ and still find him sexy as all hell.

Tony Stark, you just called another man sexy. How does that feel?

Not damn bad, to be honest.

I ignored the voice in my head and tightened its muzzle tightly in hopes of popping its head. Loki was preoccupied in his clothing, and he certainly didn't see me coming. I didn't see me coming either until I had his slender frame wrapped tight in my arms, my mouth covering his with practiced movement and precision, and his hands tangled in my hair. If he was surprised, I was certainly unaware. He adapted easily to situations like so, didn't he?

As I kissed him, I could taste him. He tasted of morning breath (he wasn't complaining, so neither was I), but also of the wine from the night before. I could smell the cologne I had worn on his clothing. Obviously, something had gone down last night. What it was, I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter now. All that I could really think of was how I was going to rank against his previous suitors.

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

Walking into work without music blaring in my ears wasn't unusual at seven p.m. The DJ had just arrived and was checking his equipment to make sure everything was working properly, and the bartender was wiping down his counter. A new bodyguard was standing with Natasha, eyeballing every straight dancer that sent her a wary look from behind his sunglasses. She was pissed. Her arms were crossed, her eyes were narrowed into thin lines, and she was biting at her lip.

I ducked my head and tried my best to sneak backstage without catching her eyes, but like a hawk, she managed to spot me and I could hear her storm over. I stopped and waited for her outside. If you were in trouble with the boss, there was no better show for the others than to hear her chew you out. I braced myself for whatever words were going to come out of her mouth. A small shred of hope wished they would be "You're fired."

Lady Luck has never been a kind mistress.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to show up for work today," she said sarcastically, sending me one of those evil smiles of hers. She twisted a short, curled lock of auburn-red hair in her fingers and glared hard at me. "I actually expected you to skip work today since I didn't hear anything from you before six."

"I apologize," I said with my own smirk. "But I've recently become, well, _booked_ by some events."

"I understand the first night you missed it was because your brother asked you to escort someone to a charity event; I'm sure you were able to speak with previous customers and coerce them to return." She let go of the hair and placed both her hands on her hips. "But I do remember telling my employees that they were not allowed to get attached to any of their clients. I received a call that you were out with one of our customers last night."

Last night? Shit. _SHIT_.

Someone had seen me with Tony and probably thought he was a customer from the bar. Maybe they had seen him here when he came with Aderholt and his group. I immediately thought of the man who had threatened to bribe his way in, the one who was always harassing and grabbing the performers when he knew damn well it wasn't allowed.

I was pretty damn sure he'd been the one who had called in with his "information." If I could remember his name, I'd track him down and kill him in a heart beat. I was practically on the run anyways. One more reason couldn't hurt me.

"Your caller was misinformed," I replied through tightly-clenched teeth. "He was just a friend, nothing more and nothing less."

"A friend?" She chewed in the inside of her cheek as she watched me.

"A friend," I confirmed with a nod. "And if you don't believe me, I can invite him here to talk to you. Though, I must warn you, he doesn't appreciate my job as much as you do." I changed my focus from Natasha to her new bodyguard. "And what happened to Romeo? I haven't seen him at all tonight."

"Him?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He turned out to be stealing money from the bar. So, I fired him and got a few of our boys here to kick his ass. This is Clint, our new bouncer. He needed a job and I owed him a favor."

Clint and I gave each other a polite nod and Natasha released me after promising to kick my ass out quicker than our thief's if I ever skipped work again without telling her or giving her a good reason. I was her "cash cow," so that left more obligations for me than it did the others. That, I could accept.

I changed into my usual outfit, not feeling up to costumes or anything flashy tonight, and claimed a vanity mirror to quickly check my hair. Once it had been properly done, I hung back in a chair near the back of the room to wait for the others to prim themselves up in costumes and makeup and, gods above, one man wearing Brazilian Carnival feathers. I had to bite my lip to choke back a laugh and my stomach began to hurt.

As I watched them dress up in awful role-playing costumes and slap on makeup to make themselves more feminine, my mind decided to be deep and poetic for a few moments. It was a rare occasion when I decided to delve into the back of my mind where coherent thoughts were kept, and the visits usually didn't last very long, but they were often eye-opening or guilt-ridden. At least, for me they were. If a mind-reader was in the room, he or she would probably ask me to think of something a little less depressing, like rainbows or starfish.

I immediately began to think of Thor. He refused to leave me alone no matter where it was we moved. He never had a serious relationship before Jane, and we had been here almost a year; it was the longest we'd ever stayed anywhere after I left home. Ah, home. That story was definitely a tearjerker. I never knew parents could look as disappointed in their own child as they had looked that day. My chest still tightened as burned as I thought about it.

Frigga cried. When I stood in the doorway of the living room and announced to my parents that I was gay and would be living with my boyfriend at the time during my college days, she looked at me in shock and burst into tears. And they were not silent tears. They were the tears of a mother's dream of growing old with grandchildren to spoil suddenly shattering, and the hopes of her son living a "normal life" fading away. She had refused to even look at me, as if I was some kind of monster. I remember trying to touch her shoulder to help console her, and she slapped my hand away.

Odin was a little less dramatic about my coming-out. He simply gave me a deep frown that displayed his obvious dislike in my taste for partners and was silent. Thor was quiet as well. He had known for a long time, but he was surprised that I had wanted to open up to my parents and let them know the reason why I had never brought a nice girl home for dinner the same way Thor had. Odin did, speak, however, and was a little calmer than Frigga. The ice coating his words was too apparent for him to get away with it. The words were, "Get out."

And that was what I had done. I did not ask questions, and I did not argue with him. I packed up my clothing, textbooks for college, my cell phone (which became obsolete within two weeks after my departure), and the money I had been saving for expenses such as food and laundry. And after gathering my things, I left. I stayed with my partner for the time (so long ago, I can't seem to recall his name), and after I graduated, we separated. He wanted to explore his heterosexuality more to see if it was an easier path than the one he had been treading. I allowed him and managed to make enough money to buy myself an apartment.

Everything after that is history. Thor found me trying to skip out of town after my first boyfriend didn't work out so well, and he's stuck by my side ever since. Was I really that important to him that he'd give up so much for someone so pathetic? There weren't many brothers like him in the world.

I perked as my name was called, and one of the guys pointed towards the steps leading to the stage. "Your turn, God of Mischief," he joked with a cynical grin on his face. "Have fun."

"Don't I always?" I asked with a matching grin.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, returning to his mirror as I stood and snatched a blue feather boa from a box by the mirrors. There was a protest from the other side of the room, but I ignored as it as stood behind the curtain, the cold floor radiating its iciness up to my entire being from my legs. A deep breath gathered the usual nerves from pre-performance, and letting it out expelled them. I closed my eyes and parted the curtain with my hands, slowly allowing them to reveal me.

I breathed again, and then moved forward. The song was slow and easy, something I had chosen to dance to rather than the usual fast-paced songs that made me want to rip my ears off my head. I took a quick step forward, toes pointed, before pivoting and bending down low, exposing my throat. My shirt slipped off of my shoulders, having been unbuttoned before my arrival. I smirked as a few girls shrieked at the first part of skin they could see and slowly lifted myself back to a standing position. The shirt slid off of me as easily as flowing water, and I had already lost an article of clothing.

A few bills later, my pants were gone with yet another impossible move that bent my spine so far I could feel it creaking. I wrapped a hand around the pole in the middle of the stage on the left and let the fun part of the dance began. I could feel their eyes staring at me hungrily, stripping off what little clothing I was wearing with their minds and probably imagining things that would make their mother ashamed of them. I was used to the hungry-eyes already. I'd been doing this for almost two years. Once you're in the game, you have to get used to the things people do.

As I dipped down, something caught my eye. It was in the corner, barely noticeable. I still gave it a glance. Could be money, could be a reason to get someone's ass kicked out. I looked to see a hand reaching out towards me, sweaty with fingers clenching in and out. I grabbed the wrist and let go with my other hand; my legs had enough strength to keep me from cracking my head against the stage. Something as clumsy as that would lower my rating in the bar.

The would-be pervert squeaked as I took hold of her wrist and clicked my tongue. "That's not allowed," I said quietly, shaking my head at her. "You know the rules, baby. 'You can look, but you can't touch.'"

I released her hand and she pulled it back to her chest, eyes glassy as if she had been put under a spell. She nodded in response to my command and leaned back in her chair. I smiled back at her and winked. She squealed and flailed in her seat as I leaned up and twisted back around the pole. I completed my dance with yet another move that was both very appealing for the watchers' eyes and that would make even a circus contortionist grimace. Once done, I gathered up my clothes, gave my ass a smack, and left the limelight of the stage. Mr. Carnival was my following act.

I yanked my clothing on and checked the money I had gathered. Someone had run out of singles sometimes during the dance; I sifted through at least seven twenties and a handful of fifties. I licked my lips and folded the money into a small bundle. I put it safely where no one would dare reach without my consent and managed to steal a mirror to check my appearance.

The itch on my neck was a new sensation, and I noticed that the blue feather boa I had stolen still remained wrapped around my neck, untouched from the performance and not in the lap of a woman who was too shy and lonely to go out and get herself someone she could wake up to in the morning.

I touched the feathers between two fingers and gave the scenario some pondering. Waking up to someone in the morning . . . The last person I had woken up to in the morning was Tony. It definitely wasn't a bad face to look at. Well, technically, it'd been the afternoon. If I was awake before noon, it was a miracle sent straight from heaven above.

After three more dances and a few drinks to rally the crowd up to let loose their wallets, I was ready to end my shift. I fastened the buttons on my shirt, looped a belt tight around my hips, and checked my hair to make sure it still looked smooth and professional. Once I was pleasant enough for the wee hours of New York City, I took my leave, flashing Natasha a winning smile as I left. She gave me a sarcastic sneer but waved anyways.

The cold night air made me wish I had brought a jacket to wear. I had forgotten mine somewhere and just didn't seem to carry the common sense to find it. My body was not made for freezing temperatures. Thor could crack his knuckles and create enough heat to warm an entire four-story house. Me? I was lucky if I walked out of the door and didn't catch my death within the first three steps.

I shivered in the cold and noticed a nice black Cadillac sitting in front of the bar. Could be one of the regulars'. Oh, but that was just wishful thinking. I was beginning to get annoyed with seeing that goatee that was sharply shaved and perfectly cut. Well, annoyed wasn't the word. I wasn't sure what it was I was feeling when I looked at him, but it definitely wasn't uncomfortable. Hell, why do I try with words? I was never good at using them.

"What a . . . surprise," I said as he gave me a million-dollar grin. "I'm not quite sure which word should be inserted there. Give me a few moments, and I might think of it."

"I can get you all the time in the world, if you'd like." His chocolate-brown eyes seemed to light up. "Well, the sun would come up, but every clock in New York City would be frozen. Would you like to try it?"

"No, I really wouldn't . . ."

"Yeah? Too bad." He pulled out the same screen I had seen him using the night before and ordered, "J.A.R.V.I.S., mind pausing time a bit? I don't feel like going to bed yet."

"_Ms. Potts will have your hide for a handbag. But, no, I personally do not mind_."

I normally do not scare easily, but the electronic voice protruding out of the screen and talking _back_ to Tony was definitely something new. I literally jumped when I heard it. Tony glanced up at me, looked down at his handheld, and he laughed. "Not used to this, are you?" He flashed another panty-dropping grin. "I'll be sure to give you a warning when I use J.A.R.V.I.S. He's an A.I."

"Artificial Intelligence?" I asked. My reward was a very impressed brow-raise from Tony. "Did you build him yourself?"

"_I have been acting as Mr. Stark's aid for many years, sir. Were I a human, I would appear thirty years my senior._"

"Holy shit."

"Okay, J.A.R.V.I.S., good night. Don't bother me for at least an hour. _At least_."

"_But, sir, I have 'stopped time' for you and Mr. Laufeyson. Should I start it again to make sure that an hour has passed before I speak with you?_"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., when I get home, I'm going to disable your ability to process sarcastic comebacks to _anything_ I say. No, don't restart the clocks. Just . . . Just stay quiet until this evening is over. I don't want to hear a peep from you."

"_No 'peeps' are had here, sir._"

"Shut up, J.A.R.V.I.S."

I was fighting back laughter when Tony and his A.I. finally ended their bickering. They were almost like a married couple. It was strange to think about something like that, but that was my first impression.

Tony shoved his handheld back into his pocket, mumbling something to himself under his breath, and he sighed. "Well, are you free?" he asked.

"My shift has ended, so, yes," I replied cautiously. "Why?"

"Well, after last night, Pepper has decided she's done with me. On a personal level, at least. Her paycheck is enough to keep her around as a secretary." He shrugged. "So, needless to say, I am quite lonely."

"I'm not going to sleep with you, Mr. Stark."

"I did not ask that." He frowned at me. "And I thought I told you to call me 'Tony.' There's no need for you to continue using formalities or any of that shit. Mr. Stark was my dad, I am Tony. Don't confuse the two of us." He stroked his beard. "I'm better-looking anyways."

"I'm sure you are, Tony." I rolled my eyes. "Do you have any idea what it is you're getting into?" I walked up to him and leaned in close. He didn't back away from me, only raised his eyebrows in greeting to a challenge.

"I have an idea," he replied with a small chuckle.

"I'm really not as nice as I seem, Tony."

"What a coincidence!" he laughed and spread his arms wide at each side. "I'm not nice, either."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**Due to a lack of writing on my part during the last week, chapter 7 will more than likely be updated later than my usual time. I apologize for the delay, but I do hope that the fluff written below will sate your desire for FrostIron in this fiction until the next chapter is ready to go.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Anthony Stark_

**If someone had told me a week ago that I would be strolling through Fort Tryon Park while holding a male stripper's hand, I probably would have laughed at them, socked them in the teeth, and then thrown them out of the window from the top floor of my tower.** It was definitely a strange feeling, grasping another man's hand in the early hours of the morning when no one was around. Normally, people would flock to the chance to see if they could catch him and me doing anything inappropriate enough to publish in a cheap tabloid rag of a magazine, but I couldn't even see a single paparazzo around.

I spared a glance from the corner of my eye at Loki, whose small, warm hand was currently being clasped tightly by mine. A ghost of a smile was playing on his lips as he was talking. About what, I had no idea because I wasn't paying his words an ounce of attention. Most of it was just looking at him and admiring the good looks God gave him.

I tuned back in to his talking at the very end of his sentence. He had been talking and asked me a question about something. Shit, what was he saying? Ah, hell, I didn't even try to think about it. I just leaned down and planted a kiss on him. That shut him up just long enough for me to gather my surroundings. I still had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

After pulling away just a few centimeters, Loki gave me a knowing smile. "You weren't even listening to me, were you?" he guessed, and I gave him a shrug and just kissed him again. It wasn't unpleasant to kiss him; it definitely did not involve the words "Did you feel something?" afterwards like most people would expect because it didn't matter if I felt something or not. It was a simple fling, right? Even if it was just with another male, I was going to make sure it wasn't something weird or uncomfortable for me to deal with.

I didn't think that a park in New York would be quiet. Central Park was usually filled with street vendors, dogs, and people on bikes or jogging. There were even horses with feathers adorning their front brows that carried excited children and their parents through the park. You could smell those monsters before you saw them, but the park was almost silent and no odor snuck up on you when you least expected it. The occasional teenage couple passed us but they were so enraptured with each other that they didn't seem to notice we were two men holding hands and leaning really close together. That, or they didn't care. Most teenagers these days were pretty liberal.

"I thought you wouldn't enjoy this place, since it doesn't provide alcoholic beverages at the wave of a hand," Loki said with a smile on his face. "Would you rather take this stroll to a place a little more crowded?"

I cracked a smile. "I don't have to get myself drunk every time I see you."

"You've had a drink in your hand every time I have seen you."

"Name one time."

"I can name three, actually: our first meeting at the bar, the charity event my brother's girlfriend forced me to attend, and our date last night. Now, if you wish, I'll give you a few moments to think of something to rebuttal that."

"You're a world-class comedian, Loki." I released his hand and put an arm around his shoulders. "And an award-winning smartass. Who taught you to speak like that? They should be locked up for it. They've created a monster."

"I'm self-taught, actually. But I guess you could say my brother did assist. You have to have a quick wit in order to speak with him sometimes. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but . . ." He smiled to himself. It was a warm, familiar smile one normally wore when thinking of someone special to them. He sighed deeply, a plume of white mist sprouting from his nostrils. The smile was wiped away. "Well, I really would prefer not to talk about my brother."

"I would definitely prefer it if you didn't talk about your brother, either," I said with a grin. "It's not exactly . . . sexy."

"I'm glad you think so." He looked up and winked. "I would hate for the man who continuously asks me out to find my brother sexier than I. Talk about a serious ego-bruiser."

"Please, I wouldn't find someone else sexier than you." The words were strange coming from my lips but I just let them out. Besides, they made Loki's cheeks burn bright red, and that was becoming harder and harder to do I noticed. Maybe he was getting over his shyness and learning to like me.

I dropped my hand from his shoulder and intertwined our fingers again. I grazed my thumb over his knuckle as we walked, taking in the silence of the park and just enjoying his company. There was a multitude of questions I wanted to ask him about his work as a . . . a stripper. Gods, it was still uncomfortable for me to think about, but I just wanted to know what it was like and why on earth he would want to take the job when he was perfectly qualified to be a damn lawyer.

And, because my damn mind couldn't seem to forget even the smallest tidbit in anything that I read, I began to wonder if it had something to do with those men who had stolen from their companies to pay for whatever the hell Loki had wanted. I watched him carefully as he droned on and on again about how peaceful it was in Fort Tryon and how he had grown up playing in this park with his brother and his friends.

"Tony, have you ever seen the sunrise?" Loki asked, a small smile breaking out on his face.

I frowned as I thought. Yes, I had seen plenty of sunrises in my time. When I would stay up all night to finish a last-minute adjustment to a project, or spent all night doing the research for a new project, I would look out my window and watch the sun peek out from behind the tops of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Often times, the sun would poke out just right enough to blind me and I would close the blinds.

I also remembered staying up all night after receiving news of my father's death. I didn't bother crying, and I was too young to get my hands on a bottle of alcohol without bringing attention to myself, so I sat on the couch, an old baseball game playing in the background, while I stared out the window and watched everyone's lives pass by while mine slowly, but surely, began to fall apart. Have I ever seen the sunrise?

"Yes."

"Have you ever _felt_ one?"

"Well, Loki, considering the sun is somewhere around 149,597,870,700 meters from the Earth's surface, and the sun's surface is, well, billions of degrees, I would definitely not live to tell the tale of touching the sunrise."

The look he gave me was one of annoyance and impatience. He apparently did not appreciate the sarcastic science drabble as much as I had enjoyed giving it, despite my inability to correctly calculate the sun's temperature from the top of my head. I chuckled to myself as he rolled his eyes and jabbed me hard in the ribs. After a small sparring match, he had me pinned against a tree. I called uncle and took advantage of his turned back to put him in a headlock. After releasing him, we were holding hands again.

"You have a quicker wit," he said. "I think you're the monster, not I."

"Well, that would be Daddy-dearest's fault. Taught me the family trade as soon as I popped out of Mom." The disgust and amusement that flashed across Loki's face was too obvious. "But, yes, I am somewhat of a monster.

"Now, back to that sunset. Why on earth are you asking such strange questions? I mean, I understand you're a weird guy . . ."

Loki hummed quietly to himself as he waited for me to be quiet, a smile touching his face. Once I took the hint to shut my mouth and listen to him, he said, "There's a place around here that's perfect to watch the sunrise. Thor and I used to sneak out of the house just to come here. We'd raid the pantries at home of food and have an almost-picnic here in the park waiting for it. He'd bring a few friends and whatever girlfriend he was with."

"And while they were making out, you were busy sticking your nose into the pages of a good book or something, right?"

"Are you sure you have never seen me before? It's frightening that you can guess so accurately." Loki smirked. "I actually had a few girlfriends at the time. Women are too much trouble for me. If I grab a guy, there's likely to be less drama and more . . . Well, more of the good stuff."

"Sex?"

"Yes, sex." He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. Was he shy about intimacy? Oh, this would be fun.

Loki stopped walking and put a hand onto the crook of my elbow to halt me. I stopped as he looked out over a small stone fence just barely two feet off of the ground and a smile lit his face. The horizon was lined with a gradient of warm colors that started out yellow, deepened to orange, and then darkened into red. The red darkened to a dark purple which faded to the blackish-blue of the night sky. The sun hadn't poked its head out yet. Loki didn't hesitate to move to the wall. He jumped up and threw his legs over the side of the wall, letting them hang over the edge. I followed and was surprised to see a drop of at least four stories. _At least_. This man was either brave or suicidal.

I didn't join him on the wall; my arms snaked around his waist like a harness and I made sure my grip on him was tight. Wouldn't want him to fall over and kill himself, now would we? He seemed to not mind and grabbed at my wrist, giving it a comforting squeeze, almost as if he was reassuring me that he wouldn't fall. It didn't matter. I wasn't going to let him go.

* * *

Pepper was waiting for me when I got home. She had her strawberry-blond hair hanging down onto her shoulders, curled at the ends, and her blouse was unbuttoned low so that her cleavage was exposed. She looked up as I walked into the sitting room and she smiled towards me. Her eyebrows rose at my entrance, and I gave her a quick smile before heading for some scotch. Oh, the burn of it would be so soothing . . .

"Good morning, Tony Stark," she greeted warmly as I swallowed, and my body immediately tensed, ready for whatever it was she was going to throw at me. Figuratively, of course, but that might turn literal at any given moment.

"Good morning to you too, Pepper," I replied, half-listening to her. "Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S., could you give me the time? Oh, and add Loki's number to my contact list. I want to be able to call him should I have the urge." I finished off the glass and turned to see Pepper giving me a look. It was a wary look, one of confusion and speculation. Another glass couldn't hurt.

"_It's seven-twenty-eight a.m., sir, and all clocks have been returned to their proper settings. Mr. Laufeyson's contact information has been permanently saved into the database. Did you have a nice evening?_"

"Who is 'Loki'?" she asked carefully, staring at me intently. The side of my head began to smoke and was damn near spontaneously bursting into flames. Where was Dummy when I actually needed him? That fire extinguisher would be handy right about now.

"A new friend of mine. I met him at the charity event a few nights ago." Damn, Tony, this whole lying gig was getting easier and easier. Congrats. "He and I hit it off pretty well, we had dinner two nights ago, and then had a guys' night out last night." I turned around, yelping as I nearly slammed into her. "Whoa, careful, Pep. I almost squashed your toes."

"Tony, did last night involve strippers?"

And again with the . . .

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" I asked, spreading my arms. "It was one time, and I kept my money to myself, thank you. There was no ass grabbing, no crotch grabbing; I kept my hands to myself."

"And I'm proud of you." She stood behind me as I leaned into the couch and sipped on the scotch. I could feel her hands on my shoulders, rubbing my arms sensually, and I sighed, closing my eyes. To her, it looked like I was giving in to her sexual advances and enjoying myself. The truth? I was fucking tired. "Want to move to the bedroom, Tony?"

I moved my shoulders and shrugged her hands away. "Pep, I'm really not in the mood. I was up all night at the park last night with Loki, and I just . . ."

"The park? What park?" She pulled her hands away. "I thought you said you had a guys' night out."

"Yeah. At . . . the park . . ." I realized how strange the story sounded to her after I repeated it for myself. It was definitely a weird place for me to announce I had been, but I wasn't sure if I should have lied or not. She was already pissed because of the feather boa, which I still hadn't gotten rid of. "You know what? I'm taking the morning off. J.A.R.V.I.S.! After this scotch, it's straight to bed! Make an alarm for eleven-forty-five."

"_Do remember to brush your teeth and floss before you turn in_," J.A.R.V.I.S. said tentatively. "_You wouldn't want a cavity getting in the way of your busy life, would you?_"

"A cavity would actually be welcoming, right now." I turned back around to the couch and looked at Pepper. She looked like an abandoned puppy, her eyes sad and her lip trembling. I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "What?"

"Nothing." She crossed her arms.

"It's _always_ nothing."

Ignoring her surprised gasp, I retreated to my room and ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to lock the door. I didn't have the slightest idea why I had asked him to do it. I didn't hear a peep from Pepper for the rest of the day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Anthony Stark_

**"Wait, I have to go _where_? **And for how long am I going to be there?" I asked in shock as Pepper frowned down at me from behind her clipboard. She was tapping the bottom of her pen against the stack of papers and giving me a sharp frown. "Why do I have to go to California when I'm in the middle of a big business deal here in New York?"

"Because I made a promise to Happy that you were going to relax and take some time away from the polluted air of the city," Pepper replied quickly, breaking eye contact to take a few quick notes. "And I think it would do your _attitude_ some good to take a break from the crowd that walks the streets here." Her brow rose on "attitude." She was definitely pissed off.

"Pepper . . ." I rubbed my forehead and groaned, trying to think of what I could say to her that would not earn me a whack on the back of the head with her damn clipboard. "I'm . . . I'm in the middle of something important. I don't have the luxury right now to just – just take off out of nowhere without warning."

"You don't have the 'luxury'? Tony Stark, you have the luxury of a damn _dictator_ in this country. You are the richest man on this earth; you make more money in one second than Bill Gates makes in sixty. You have the luxury to do anything you want, so do not give me that excuse." Pepper tightened her grip on her pen, and I was waiting for the moment it cracked in half.

"I know that," I replied, opening up a newspaper. "Well, I didn't mean 'luxury,' exactly . . ." I peeped out from behind the newspaper at her. "I used the wrong word, Pep. And, well, I have something I'm kinda doing right now, and it requires a bit of my attention . . ."

"Well, if it is that desperate for attention, simply bring it along with you. It's only for a month, Tony." She jotted something down quickly before turning back towards me. She knew something was up.

"Well, I don't think that's such a good idea . . ." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously and cleared my throat. "Things are kind of . . ."

"You're having an affair."

I felt all of the color run from my face from behind the papers. She wasn't asking me a question. She wasn't asking me if it was true. She was _telling_ me it was true. And it probably was. Did I have to have sex with Loki to make it an affair? Maybe. I hadn't bought him anything, and the furthest the two of us had gone was sleeping together shirtless. Did that make for an affair? I was horrible when it came to romance and relationships.

"You're not denying it." Pepper bit her lip and blinked back impending tears. I rolled my eyes and let the paper fall onto the table.

"I didn't confirm it, either." I stood up from my seat and caught a glance of myself in the mirror, running a hand over my smoothened hair. I could see Pepper in the reflection, sitting with her back towards me and her head lowered down. I couldn't hear anything. "But, Pepper . . . I, uh . . . I think we ne – we need to take a break from our . . . our thing."

"You mean break up?" she asked. Her voice was tight and shaking. That meant that she was crying. I couldn't deal with people when they cried, especially women. There was a certain amount of guilt that always came with hurting peoples' feelings. Women always made me feel like a piece of shit.

"Yeah." I shrugged and focused on my own reflection. "I just tried to, you know, make it nicer." I sighed and fiddled with my tie. "But, um, you can still keep your job, of course. You know I can't even recite my own social security number without you."

"I know." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, but otherwise her composure remained unchanged. "Your flight is scheduled for tomorrow morning at six a.m., but knowing you, it will not leave New York until two p.m. I'll have the hotel informed that you'll be bringing along extra . . ." She stood from the chair and turned around towards me, staring me down in the mirror. ". . . _baggage_."

"He is _not_ baggage, Pepper!" I turned and gave her a hard stare, watching her face go from tough and guarded to shocked and almost disgusted. "Now, if you'll excuse me . . ." I buttoned the top of my shirt and winked. ". . . I have my _boyfriend_ to call. J.A.R.V.I.S.!"

"A _male_?" Pepper's lip curled back. "This is . . . This is because you've been going around behind my back with another _man_?" Her brow crumpled together in disbelief. I looked down at my feet, turned back up to her, and then I nodded.

"Yes, Pepper. This is because I've been 'going around your back.' If it makes you feel any better, I haven't _fucked_ him." I ran a hand through my hair and could physically feel myself already going bald. Pepper's eyes were beginning to brim again and she gasped and shook her head.

"I can't believe this . . ." She looked up at me and shook her head slowly. "I – I never thought someone like you would . . . would find any sort of company in someone of the same sex." Her voice lowered to a soft whisper. I strained to hear her. "Is he the reason why?"

"He's a fling, Pepper." I fixed the hem of my jacket and began to button it. "Just something fun to play with. Relax." I turned back to the mirror to check my appearance and caught Pepper's eye. She still looked heartbroken and hurt. I rolled my eyes. "Pepper, seriously, stop crying already. I'm not a nice guy, and you know that. There's no need to feel sorry for yourself."

"For myself?" she asked. She sounded offended, put-off. Her sad face turned into a mask of disappointment and hard resolution. She straightened her back and clenched the clipboard so tightly she whitened her knuckles. "I'm not the who should feel sorry for anything, least of all for myself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a trip to prepare."

Pepper turned her back towards me and stomped out of the room, leaving me contemplating what the hell she was even talking about. Even I didn't know what the hell I was talking about. What the fuck was going on? Before I allowed myself to regret saying anything about Loki being a "fling," I turned back towards the mirror.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., I'm still waiting for you to start that call!"

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

When I arrived back at my flat from another night of dancing, I took a moment outside to gather the nervous butterflies in my stomach. I had spent yet another amazing night with an amazing man that, I hoped, wouldn't be as insane as the others and end up stalking me again. I hadn't seen him since the night before in the park, but I was anticipating the next time the two of us would get together again.

I felt sudden chills as I grabbed onto the doorknob, horrid memories rushing back to me from the time when Thor and I had been separated and my first lover came along. I couldn't remember his name or the company he had worked for, but we had had one fling and then I was done with him. He had become obsessed after our one-night stand and suddenly I was getting flowers and gifts like I was in a damn romance movie.

After I sent everything back to him, he demanded dates and called my apartment every day. I changed my number after four days but he quickly found my new one and even began to make house calls to come and see me. After it was discovered that he had been stealing money from his company to fund his insane infatuation with me, I had gathered everything I owned and hit the high road with Thor. After a few months and a restraining order, I was living in a new town and shit hit the fan all over again. I still had horrid nightmares from my second mistake, who had pulled a gun on and almost killed me.

The feeling of suddenly being watched came over me before I knew it, and I rushed into the apartment, nearly slamming the door as hard as I could. I gave the peephole a quick look-over to make sure no one was outside and leaned my forehead against it. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. My paranoia is going to be the death of me one day, I swear it.

"Brother? Is everything all right?" Thor called out. I could hear the scrape of his chair as he stood from the table. He hadn't left for job-hunting yet. What was it that he did all day anyways? I was beginning to wonder.

He appeared at the end of the entryway as I leaned my back against the front door and ran a hand over my hair. I looked up at him and smiled despite the worried expression on his face. "Hello, Thor," I said with a shy smile.

"Are you all right? You look as though you've seen a ghost." He rushed over to me as I regained my balance. He did his usual inspection of my arms to make sure there were no needle punctures and placed his hands on my shoulders to help me keep balanced.

"Just some flashbacks, brother." I waved his hands away. "I'll be all right. I just need to fall asleep and stay asleep for maybe a year. Yes, a year sounds perfect." I yawned and slid past him. The envelope in my pocket stabbed at my leg with each step and I threw it onto the table from where I was standing. It slid across the flat surface and fell onto the floor on the opposite side. I didn't bother to go retrieve it.

"Loki." Thor was behind me before I registered it, taking hold of my shoulders. "I have good news. You can end this damned game you've been playing. I found a job at a nearby electronics store." His laugh seemed to radiate his joy into me. I whipped around to see his broad grin and he took me into his arms before I could react appropriately.

"Th-Thor! Thor! I can't breathe!" I wheezed as he released me and breathed heavily. "That's . . . That's wonderful! When did this happen? And how the hell did you get to an _electronics_ store?" He laughed as I grinned at him.

"One of Jane's friends, Darcy, her name is, she asked me to help her with a speaker that she couldn't fix. You remember how I used to fix things like our television or your old radio back home when we were younger?" I nodded. That radio had lived for six lifetimes because of Thor. Then I threw it out the window when we had a fight. I had been aiming for Thor, but I missed. "Well, the speaker was just as easy to fix as your radio. Once they had some trashy, boy band song playing through it without static, I was hired!"

He put his arms around me, picked me up, and began slinging me around like a rag doll. I tried to twist myself out of his lung-crushing grip but to no avail. He was laughing loudly and hollering and I just saved my breath in case he decided to squeeze me hard enough to pop my head off.

"Thor! Thor! Air!" I coughed as he dropped me and I nearly fell to my knees. I managed to keep myself from crumpling to the ground and touched at my throat to make sure my head had not detached itself. Once I confirmed that I had remained intact, I turned back up to him and asked, "When did this happen?"

"Last night while you were at work." Thor was breathless. He was so excited he looked as though he would throw me through a wall. More flashbacks came for me, these a little more pleasant than the previous. I took a few steps back in case he decided to act upon the movement. "Isn't this great?"

"This is marvelous," I agreed, smiling with him as he let out another hearty laugh.

"Yes, well, I must be off!" He grabbed his jacket and gave me another bone-breaking embrace. "When I come home this afternoon, I want to see you here, in the same position I have been in these past few weeks, looking for a job for yourself. Though, with your knowledge, I'm sure your job hunt will be so much more prosperous than mine."

"I'm sure it will, Brother. Stay safe!" I waved to him as he walked out the door and grinned, a sudden wave of relief suddenly flowing over me as I leaned against the wall and sighed. And then I began laughing. It was horrid. I sounded as though I had just broken out of a mental asylum. But I didn't give a damn.

I ran a hand through my hair, breathing deeply after nearly laughing myself into unconsciousness, and sighed and leaned against the wall to just relish in the fact that I could actually stop what I was doing and find myself a decent job. One where I wouldn't be forced to strip-tease for lunch money. I could be taking in so much more than three digits if I could find a law firm . . .

The phone rang behind me and I stood up quickly to answer it. I took a deep breath and steadied my voice as I answered. The grin on my face was completely permanent. Nothing was going to get rid of it today.

"Oh, good, you haven't drifted off to sleep yet," the voice on the other end said. It was Tony. I suddenly felt as though I would never be able to get rid of this man. "Well, I have something to ask you. Have you ever been to Malibu?"

"Malibu?" I asked, stunned. "No, I haven't. I haven't even been past Pennsylvania."

"Really?" There was an edge of smugness and excitement in his voice. "Well, that's absolutely perfect. You see, my secretary's making me go 'take a vacation' from all of the 'pollution' and shit here in New York. Really, she just wants me to get away from all of the partiers and pole-dancers."

"Lovely choice of words, Stark," I said, then quickly corrected myself with, "Er, Tony."

"Nice save." He chuckled on the other end and cleared his throat. "Well, as I said, Pepper wants me out of New York. I love California as much as the next person, and I wouldn't have made a big deal if it was for a weekend or so. But apparently, she wants me there for a month."

A month? Well, there goes my smile. It slid slowly off my face as I took in the fact that I wouldn't be able to see him. I swallowed and nodded quietly. "Oh, I see. Well, that is a bit unfortunate."

"Yeah, I guess it is." Tony cleared his throat again. "So, uh . . . Does that mean that you don't want to come with me? Because, if that's the case, then I can just call someone else and ask them."

I opened my mouth to reply when his words actually made a coherent sentence in my head, and I stopped. The man I had barely known for a week was asking me to run across the country with him for four weeks, away from my only family. Was I ready for that? Every fiber of my being was telling me "yes," but there was that shred of guilt that was telling me to stop and think about it.

"When are you leaving?" I asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. Probably around five or six. Why? Is there something you have to take care of?" I could hear some clattering on the other side of the line.

"Er, yes. I just don't think I can pack enough clothing for a month-long trip . . ."

"That's fine. I have a few suits lying around my Malibu home. You can just borrow them on the occasion. Besides, I don't plan on getting out of the house very much." He chuckled. I swallowed. Well, damn, there was a deal-maker if I ever heard one.

"Oh, um . . ." I coughed and felt a hot blush creep across my cheeks as Tony laughed triumphantly on the other end. My throat closed up from embarrassment. What the hell was I supposed to say to something as bold as that? "I – I suppose I could try to attend. I would have a few things to work out with my, er, brother."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I understand," he said with a short laugh. "Whatever you need to get done, do it. Take as much time as you need. I'll be waiting for you."

I swallowed again as my chest tightened and that little voice in my head said, "He's the real thing!" I quickly beat it back down into a crumpled little mess at the back of my mind. There would be no use getting myself all hot and bothered over a simple comment he made. And he has indeed made several references to such acts, if my mind serves me correctly.

"I – I won't be long," I promised, somehow talking in a clouded daze. "I just – just have to talk it over with my brother. I'll . . . I'll be there."

"Good! I'd be quite disappointed if you didn't come." There was a long pause. I think we were both trying to wrap our heads around what exactly was happening at the moment. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I hope."

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

The phone clicked loudly before the dial tone came and I was left standing in my apartment by myself still trying to wrap my head around what the hell had just happened to me. A man I had only known for a few days (just enough for me to count on one hand) was asking me to fly to the other side of the nation with him and spend an entire month in one of his many homes he kept plotted around the nation. What the hell was wrong with me?

It didn't matter what my conscience was telling me. It didn't matter what logic and sensibility were telling me. It especially didn't matter what my head was telling me. With every thought I gave him, every thought that he alone seemed to entirely consume with the flash of a smile, my heart galloped in my chest and pushed me further towards the cliff my stupid self was going to throw myself over. I was already staring down at the dark, horror-filled crevice that lied before me. All I had to do was take a small, life-changing step.

And I did.

I placed the phone back into its cradle on the wall and retreated to my bedroom where I proceeded to throw clothes into my suitcase in a sloppy fashion before taking them back out and folding them properly. That little voice in my head was screaming its head off and I hummed a tune to myself in order to drown it out.

I was successful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Anthony Stark_

**I could tell Loki had been somewhat uncomfortable flying in a private jet with just the two of us.** He had squirmed in his seat beside me on the couch for almost the entirety of the trip. He told me that he had never been on a plane before and, since it was his first time flying, he was extremely on-edge and very aware of every dip and turn the plane made. He nearly flipped his shit when the pilot had to reroute. I don't think I did anything to help him by mentioning that the plane had a built-in stripper pole that he had absolute free access to should he get the urge.

Pepper was one hell of a helper with him, too. I didn't see her on the plane (probably in another room or the cockpit in order to avoid being in the same room as the two of us), but her welcome wagon of pure hatred only made Loki's reservations about flying sour. She had given him this narrow-eyed, tight-lipped frown and spoke to him as though she were speaking to an evil overlord trying to reign over all of humanity.

However, I do have to applaud her for holding her tongue and not acting like a five-year-old being forced on a play-date with her nemesis from across the street. She didn't throw any insults and definitely didn't ask if he was the exotic dancer that gave me his feather boa; she looked at him, spoke a few words, and then disappeared. Considering the fact that I would be in California, possibly doing publicity galas, she would have to be there to "keep me in line." I'm sure keeping me in line involved telling J.A.R.V.I.S. and Happy that I was not allowed to visit any bars or clubs while in Malibu.

It was a vain move, actually, considering that I wanted to make my promise of keeping indoors (and possibly in bed) for the majority of the trip with my new lover. Er, not lover. Fling. Keep your head straight, Tony.

The inside of the Cadillac was cool compared to the hot, salty air that covered the city of Malibu, and while I was never impressed with the fresher air and more space between buildings along the shoreline, Loki seemed absolutely enthralled with the scenery. He also found palm trees interesting. _Palm trees_. Dear God, if I were to take this man to China to see the Great Wall, he would probably lose his mind.

"This is your first time out of the Big Apple since you moved?" I asked with a chuckle, glancing to the front seat to see the back of Happy's head as he weaved in and out traffic in order to get us to the house quickly. "You must not get out very much if Malibu impresses you."

"In case my last job hadn't made my brother's and my financial standing clear enough for you," he started with a smirk, "we barely had enough money to get by as it was. If we even attempted to take a vacation and leave the city we were living in, we would have to skip meals to make ends meet. Or, if necessary, I would have to do extra favors . . ."

"You know what, just enjoy the fact that you're here. I do not need to hear any explanations." I threw my hand up to stop him and he grinned and went back to his sightseeing through the open window.

I made sure to keep an eye on him in case he decided that something was interesting enough for him to have to crawl out of the window to investigate. Luckily, I only had to tell him to keep his head inside the car once. He was saucer-eyed the entire ride to the house, and once we were inside, he was still saucer-eyed at the size of it.

Pepper walked past him up to me, clipboard hard against her chest and lips pressed into a hard line as she glowered at me. I smiled as sweetly as I could at her as Loki helped himself to a couch cushion. "You look proud of yourself," she said in a low voice.

"I feel rather proud," I admitted, stealing a glance over to Loki as he stared longingly down at the beach. Had he never been to one? Oh, this would definitely be a vacation to remember.

"Well, here's your schedule, not that you'll follow it at all." She handed me a small folded pamphlet. I opened it and looked inside. Ugh, more damn galas. I wasn't surprised, exactly, but I definitely wasn't thrilled.

"That thing next week . . ." I gestured towards the planned evening. "Can we just, um, not go? I'd rather not leave the house much this month. I have plans with someone." Loki seemed to sense his reference in the conversation and glanced back. I winked his way and got one in return.

"I wish, but that evening is a very _important_ to your reputation, since it's a special event that you yourself host every year at the Disney Concert Hall. So, unless you plan on dropping your perfect attendance for every year, then I highly suggest you be there on time. At least by an hour, if not on the dot."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I joked, and then leaned over and kissed her cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Loki giving me a pensive look. Pepper didn't appreciate the teasing as much as I did. I chuckled and put a hand on her back. "Buy yourself something nice on me for that evening."

"I intend to," she said coldly.

Pepper turned her back on me and approached Loki. She gave him the same cold stare she always gave the girls (and the occasional guy) I brought home. Loki didn't give her a shy glance from beneath his eyebrows like he did when I teased him. Rather, he looked up at her and gave her a sinful smirk. He even took her hand and _kissed it_. When he did, her cheeks flushed bright red, and she smiled. She even pushed a lock of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

As she stammered, Loki sent me a devilish smirk, still holding onto her fingers with his slim, pale hands. He winked and then looked up at her with a small smile as she handed him the same schedule she had handed me. I felt my eyes narrow and my brow furrow together. I did not like the look of Loki and Pepper smiling and talking together. He was completely confident and upfront with her. With me, he was more reserved. I didn't appreciate that.

Loki looked over the schedule as Pepper explained what each event was for and what time I normally left for them. She gave him a smile as he kissed her knuckles in farewell. She turned to me, gave me an appraising look, and I just growled at her to hurry up and leave. Loki smirked when she was gone and raised his brow in expectance of a challenge.

"Where did that come from?" I asked, gesturing towards my hand in reference to his "chivalry." He looked up at me with a grin.

"Well, you've shown her your appreciation in your own way; why not show her mine?" he retorted, sliding his shoes off. I bit the inside of my cheek and sighed.

"All right, fine. No more 'expressing our appreciation,' okay? I don't kiss them, and you don't kiss them. Especially not Pepper." I approached him as he looked at me tentatively, right brow cocked. He pursed his lips before smiling. "Have we got a deal?"

"We do." He chuckled. "I never thought Tony Stark would get jealous over someone showing affection. Did I do something to earn such an honor?" Loki shifted himself from his backside to his knees, leaning up so that we were almost eye-to-eye. I narrowed mine and stared intently at him, waiting for him to make the next move.

I leaned over and kissed him and put my arm around his waist, pulling him towards me and dominating his mouth. He welcomed me eagerly, throwing his arms around my shoulders and running his fingers through my hair. He groaned against my mouth. We separated as I was desperate to catch my breath.

Loki looked up at me and smirked, proud of the obvious arousal he had caused in me. I frowned in response and was rewarded with a slight chuckle. He kissed me again, and I pulled away from him. He didn't appreciate the loss of contact.

"Shall we move to the bedroom?" I offered, taking his hand and pulling him along with me. He showed a total lack of regard for furniture as he easily climbed over the back of the couch so as to not break the contact between us. The smile that lit my face was one I had no control of.

When we were locked inside of the room, J.A.R.V.I.S. muted and the windows tinted until we were in complete darkness despite the shining, cloudless day outside, we began to meld and move together. I could feel everything I touched; hear every breath from his lips and from mine. I hadn't ever felt someone's entire being the way I had felt his. It was almost magical.

I memorized every dip in his skin, how it felt beneath my fingers. I could distinguish a few patches of skin that were different from the skin around them. Were they scars? How had he gotten them? I'd have to ask when our intimacy wasn't currently in play.

Loki and I were a bundle of wanton groans, wet, slick skin, and heavy breathing. We were attached at the mouths, our hips, our fingertips. No area went unnoticed or untouched by either of us. And I loved it. I hadn't been with a man in quite some time, and I surely regretted not finding Loki and somehow getting him into my life sooner. The sex was fantastic, as I quickly realized, and I was beginning to feel a pull towards him.

My hands raked his scalp as he rocked and writhed beneath me, fingernails scraping against my back. They would surely leave thin red lines on my back that would be very visible in the morning, I was sure. But that didn't matter, and the speculation I would get from the press didn't matter either.

Loki was no longer a fling to me, and as we rode out our orgasms, panting and kissing each other, I felt guilty for Pepper. Pepper and I were never going to continue a relationship again, like she had wanted. I collapsed beside him, burying my face into my pillow and trying to catch my breath as Loki lay sprawled beside me, his chest rising and falling in time with mine.

I didn't think about my actions as I rolled over onto my side and pulled myself to Loki, nuzzling his neck. He welcomed it gladly, placing a hand on the back of my neck and leaning his forehead against mine. With no small amount of light to filter into our eyes, I wasn't able to make out a single bit of his face. All I saw was pitch black, all I heard was his breathing, but I felt _everything_. I could feel his hand on my skin, the sheets tangled around my legs, and a bead a sweat trailing down my neck from behind my ear.

The smell of sweat and sex and our breath lingered in the air. Loki's hair was matted down by his own sweat, and even though my sight was lost to me, I could almost sense the smile on his face. I wasn't sure why I was confident that he was lying beside me with a silly grin on his face, and anyone's guess was as good as mine, but I knew that he was.

I let my hand trail up from his chest to his shoulder and to finally rest on his neck. His pulse beat beneath my fingers and began to slow from its racing. I raked a thumb over his sharp cheekbones, feeling his breath as he sighed. I grinned in return, hoping that maybe he would be able to tell I was smiling as well.

"Moving a little fast, aren't we, Tony?" he whispered, voice shaking. I could feel him trembling and tightened my grip on him. He chuckled but still panted. "You told me only a few days ago that you were not gay, and you definitely weren't into me when I was taking my clothes off in front of others."

"Yeah, well, that was before," I admitted, finding his hair and petting it carefully.

"Before what?" He trailed his fingers up my arm to take hold of my hand, stopping me from playing with his hair. The apprehension in his voice was obvious. I rolled my eyes, knowing well that he wouldn't be able to see, and sat up, reaching the blankets. I could feel his hand fall from my neck and hear it hit the mattress.

"There's no reason to talk about it now," I said, pulling the thickest of my sheets over us. "Let's rest. Maybe start that up again later."

Loki laughed but I could hear the doubt in his voice. I draped my arms over him and pulled him to me, feeling his arms tighten around me, his hand returning to its previous place on the back of my neck. I sighed as I let my chin rest on his head. What the hell was I getting myself into?

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

I opened my eyes, swearing I had only closed them for a few moments. I had to blink for a few moments to make sure that I had not lost my eyesight, but the memories of earlier events came flooding back in an instant. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and blinked again to make sure my eyes were not still shut. After a few moments, I rose.

As I sat up, the tint on the windows began to fade, and my eyes adjusted quickly, muscles straining in them. I closed them and rubbed the soreness away as a robotic voice called out the time and the weather. The forecast appeared on the windows that showed the clear, blue water lapping at the shores of the beach far below. I looked out in awe and stared shamelessly at the scenery. It definitely beat the view one gained from an apartment in a city.

I stretched my arms up and arched, feeling my back pop in a few places and groaned as I felt my muscles loosen. I yawned and popped my neck before quickly gathering my clothes and covering myself. Wouldn't want to accidentally flash someone, would we?

"_The shower is open for your use, Mr. Laufeyson_," J.A.R.V.I.S. (I think that was his name) said as I plucked my shirt from a nearby chair. Did I accidentally bump into it last night? My leg hurt when I stood, and I hadn't had time to distinguish between the bruises and the hickeys yet. I doubt Tony had bitten the back of my leg earlier, though. How unsexy would that be?

Having Tony's A.I. speak to me from the ceiling was still quite a shock. I looked up at the ceiling to see if I could find a microphone or a sensor somewhere where I could throw my voice, but the corners and walls were entirely blank. I opened my mouth to say something, paused, and said quietly, "Er . . . what time is it now?"

"_It is half an hour past twelve, sir,_" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "_And don't be afraid to speak a little louder; you will not look like a fool when speaking to me_."

"Oh, sure." I clutched my shirt in my hands nervously. "You're not going to watch me in the shower, are you?"

"_There are not many places Mr. Stark does not have his cameras placed, but one of those places is his own bathroom. And although I do tend to watch over the cameras, I am not a peeping tom. Your privacy will not be violated by me_."

I wasn't sure if I detected a hint of sarcasm in the robotic voice or not, but I didn't question. I walked into the bathroom and twisted the knob for the shower. Hot water sprayed down as I stripped myself again and dove beneath it. Gooseflesh popped up over my arms and legs at the relaxing sensation that came with the shower. I leaned against the side of the stall and ran a hand over my hair, watching the water drop from the end of my nose.

Memories of earlier in the day came rushing up to me, and I felt myself blush as I remembered many of the things Tony had said to me between grunts and heaving breath. Most of them were very hard to translate because my mind had been so overwhelmed by everything I had felt and heard that I could barely even form coherent thoughts. I did remember, however, him promising me that there would never be someone after me. I would be his last. And that made my test tighten with joy.

The eccentric playboy was actually going to settle down with someone, with me, and I was barely able to wrap my mind around it. I pushed my hair back as I turned the water off and came out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist. I did my best to dry myself off before pulling my pants back on and draping my shirt over my arm.

The sound of heels clacking against the wooden floor made me look up, and the bedroom door swung open. Strawberry hair flashed golden in the sunlight as Pepper, his secretary, walked into the room and looked up from the device in her hand. She opened her mouth to speak and suddenly sputtered, looking me over quietly. She cleared her throat and gathered herself.

The smile on my face came by itself and I stood in the room, purposefully forgetting to put my shirt on, and waited for her to regain her composure. After a few more moments, she swallowed, sighed, and said, "Your stay here will have to be cut short due to a small inconvenience."

"I have to leave now?" I asked, feeling my right brow raise. Pepper cleared her throat and looked away, back down to her electrical device.

"No, not now. Definitely not now. However, Mr. Stark had to leave for a board of directors meeting, so you will have the entire afternoon to yourself. If you wish to sight-see and look around the town, I can call a car for you that will take you anywhere you will want to go." She typed on a few buttons and looked back up. "If you wish to stay, J.A.R.V.I.S. has commands to make sure your stay is comfortable. Mr. Stark will be away for most of the day, possibly until late this evening."

"I see . . ." I sighed from aggravation, having spent the time we had together this morning sleeping. It may have been the jetlag and it may have been our rigorous activities from earlier. All I knew was that I had been exhausted after our romp in the sheets, and I had slipped into sleep after curling against Tony's chest and closing my eyes.

"Is there anything else you'll need, or will that be all?" Pepper's brow rose to her forehead as she waited for an answer from me. I almost physically recoiled from the sour tang coating her words. I ran a hand over my wet hair and took a deep breath until my chest refused to take in anymore oxygen. I let it out heavily and locked eyes with her, making sure she wouldn't turn away.

"Something tells me . . .," I started, moving in closer towards her until we were inches apart, me towering over her small frame. She seemed intimidated but didn't move away as I continued, ". . . you don't seem to like me very much. Why would that be?"

Pepper blinked a few times, her mind searching for an answer to my question. She looked down, swallowed, and then backed away.

"That was entirely out of line." She turned away and stormed towards the doorway. Once there, she paused and waited. After a while, she turned back towards me. "I don't dislike you, Mr. Laufeyson. You've given me no reason to dislike you. Rather, I feel sorry for you."

"Sorry for me?" I repeated. My ego felt bruised and I stepped towards her. "What do you mean you feel sorry for me? For what?" She was quiet, not acknowledging me and keeping her back towards me. I felt insulted. "What have I done that has incurred your sympathy?"

"Absolutely nothing," she replied with a shaking voice. She refused to turn and face me, but her grip on the device tightened in her hand. "Have a good afternoon."

And then she left. I was standing in the middle of Tony's bedroom pondering over what she had meant by feeling sorry for me and why she felt she needed to. I dropped my shirt onto the bed sheets and walked out into the living room, catching a glance of Pepper entering the elevator and watching the doors close on her. She didn't seem to see me. I was glad. Like I needed to go another round with her.

I sighed and threw myself down onto the black leather couch in Tony's living room, staring outside at the beach scenery from the windows. The bright atmosphere didn't seem so wonderful anymore. My little spat with Pepper had killed my elated mood.

"Hey, um, J.A.R.V.I.S.? Are you there?" I asked, my tone completely giving away the lack of confidence I was beginning to feel.

"_Of course, sir._"

". . . Have Ms. Potts and Tony . . . Have they been very intimate lately?"

"_I cannot disclose private information about Mr. Stark's personal affairs, especially not of that caliber._"

". . ." I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the call of the seagulls outside as they searched the beach for food. The bustling of the city would possibly get my mind off of Pepper's words. I shot up and looked back at the ceiling, finding J.A.R.V.I.S.'s cameras or whatever it was Tony used to contact the program. "Is that car for me still out there, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"_It is waiting for you whenever you would like to use it_."

"Perfect!" I jumped up and nearly fell over onto the glass coffee table in front of me. After banging my knees against it hard, I moved away from it and rushed to the bedroom. "I'll be leaving in about an hour! Let the driver know for me, please?"

"_Already done, sir_."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**The following weeks seemed to fly by in a quickened blur, and I could have sworn that the glowing of my arc reactor was beginning to brighten every time I saw Loki, whether or not he was fully clothed.** I found it disturbing how often I had to remind Loki to wear clothing whenever Pepper was around because she would suddenly turn into a teenage girl staring at her favorite celebrity in the time span of point-two seconds. Loki found it amusing and, more often than not, ignored what I said. I didn't bother spoiling his fun, though.

And, gods, those nights (and most afternoons) we spent together wrapped up in the sheets of the bed were fantastic. There were not enough words in the English language to convey how everything we did just _felt_. I mean, _Gods in Heaven_ . . .

I shook my head quickly before I gave myself something painful and hard to get rid of and crossed my legs. Loki was pulling on a dark shirt when my monitor beeped from my pocket. I looked away from the reverse-strip-tease in front of me to open up a reminder that I was to attend that damn gala at the concert hall that same evening. Oh, lord.

Galas meant being social and leaving the house. They also meant that I wasn't allowed to grab a handful of stripper-ass in public without getting enough attention to make the Prince of Whales envious. Was I looking forward to it? Short answer: no. Did I have any choice? Only answer: no.

Loki was fixing his hair in the mirror when another thought occurred to me: that reporter, whatever the hell her name was, was going to be there. And so would Loki. She was damn good at getting her info from anyone she met, and if she were to run into Loki . . . Fuck. If that wasn't a recipe for disaster, I wasn't sure what was. Keeping them as far apart from each other as I could would be a hard task, and keeping him away from me would be an even harder one.

Shit.

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

Once again, I was forced into a three-piece suit and was wandering around a rather large party with a drink in my hand, searching through the sea of black tuxedoes and shiny dresses. It was almost the same as those small get-togethers Tony had arranged back in New York, only the crowd here was made up of many people I didn't even recognize. Back in New York, I could at least mingle with someone I had seen in the bar and then return to being a wallflower, but here I couldn't walk two steps without bumping into a stranger.

Earlier that day, I had relayed everything to Thor, letting him know that I would be home earlier and even had a nice chat with Jane one morning when she had answered the phone due to Thor's being in the shower. After confirming with her that my brother's sex life was well and he was satisfied, Thor had snatched the phone away from her a stuttering mess and was angry at me for prying. Jane had been giggling in the background and Thor made me confess to my own sex life (mostly white lies of not getting any action) before he finally let me hang up.

As soon as I was off the phone, Tony took me again, in the shower, with the water scalding hot. Damn, that had been an intense morning.

I took a small sip of the brandy served at the bar and found a young woman to chat with. She seemed very interested in learning anything she could about other people, including their darkest, most-protected secrets, and she also enjoyed sharing everything she could about the people she knew. Or, should I say, the people she _thought_ she knew. After she explained a few rumors to me about Anthony, I decided I had heard enough. She disagreed, and I ended up walking away from her midsentence.

I was rude, yes, but at least I managed to get away from her nasally crowing before my head imploded. She was probably going to start rumors about "the rude man" behind my back to everyone she knew. At least I had kept my name to myself.

The crowd had been growing since the clock had struck nine, and I had long lost Tony in the sea of heads. Having a boyfriend as short as he was was beginning to become a pain when it came to crowds. I ran into a few of the guys who used to work at the club with me (they had found their cash machines and were milking them for all they were worth), and a few girls were interested in taking me home, but I had to kindly decline them. That, and they were quite crude when it came to showing their interest.

I swirled the ice in my cup and took another sip of the smoky liquid, feeling the hot burn trail down my throat and tasting the flavor left behind from its passing. I was ready to return to the sweat-soaked sheets and free myself from this blasted suit, but Tony insisted on staying until midnight. The time? Just past ten. This evening was going to drag by slowly.

I fidgeted again and plucked at the small strands of string hanging from the ends of my scarf, tying them and twisting them and untying them between my fingers. The scarf would probably come apart from my nervous fingering but I was sure it would hold for the duration of the party. If it came apart, I would fix it. If it was unfixable, I would buy a new one.

I spotted Tony with a small group of men, all wearing business suits and women clinging onto their arms with smiles. All smiles were directed at Tony, and if they weren't the smiles of people trying to get into his pockets . . .

He had women. Two girls were throwing their breasts out and pressing them against Tony's side; one of the trollops was wearing a red gown that fell just below her knees and barely even hid her breasts. She pressed herself freshly against him, and I was personally horrified to see him placing his hand _on her ass_ and smiling at her. Call me clingy, but . . .

I did my best to calmly storm over to Tony's side and cleared my throat. He looked up at me from his conversation and grinned. "Ah, Loki! There you are; I was just talking about you. C'mere." He shrugged off the harlot with her breasts hanging out and put an arm around my shoulders as I stood awkwardly in the circle.

The girl who had been tossed aside stomped her heel into the back of my leg. I grunted and turned towards her with murder in my eyes. She just stuck her tongue out at me like a child and strutted away. Tony and the others laughed it off with "sensitive girl" and "she was probably just trying to get into your pants anyway." I didn't find it as amusing as everyone else seemed to.

"Damn, you're pretty tall," one of the men said with a smirk, sizing me up. I looked down at him and glared. He chuckled and winked. Disgusting. I knew his kind down to a _T_. I wasn't even going to acknowledge his remark.

"So, Tony, I heard you're quite the ladies' man!" a second man said with a wink. "Looking out for any bed-warmers for tonight or are you going to go at it by yourself?" The other guys oooed and gave each other looks. I smirked and gave Tony a proud look from the corner of my eye. He was surely going to let them know that he was already with someone, even if he was too shy to name me specifically.

"I think I already found my bed mate right here; isn't that right, gorgeous?"

I turned to reply but my words were instantly halted by Tony pulling the girl still at his right tightly to his side, smirking as she giggled and threw her arms around him. _And kissed him_. I was mentally horrified as he kissed her back. Was that jealousy I was feeling? Envy and anger mixed together into a lethal combination of emotions. My hold on my drink tightened.

I'm sorry.

What the actual fuck?

"Should I find myself a hotel so you and your . . . _friend_ can have some privacy tonight?" I asked curtly, forcing a tight smile onto my face. Tony jumped at hearing me speak and their lips parted with an audible _smack_. He grinned, lips slightly pink from the girl's lipstick. She was grinning and biting her lip.

"Oh, um, no, that's okay. We won't bother you. Can you be quiet, hon, or are you a screamer?"

The cracking noise any of you might have heard was either my heart or my temper; which one it was, I wasn't entirely sure. I couldn't see anything else around me but the color red. My face heated up and I could feel myself sweating beneath the multiple layers of clothing. At least this one wasn't overly attached. That had to be a plus, right?

I wasn't fooling myself.

I smoothed my hair back with a wet palm and turned towards the others, all of whom must have felt my raging aura because they were taking a step back. I smiled the best I could, but I was definitely sure I looked like I was about to bite their heads off. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of them was to back away slowly with his hands held up in defense.

"Well, I must be going," I announced, bowing my head and pulling my fist behind my back. "Tony had hired a little extra entertainment for the party, and I offered to greet them personally." I turned to Tony and my smile completely disappeared. "Goodbye."

And then I walked.

And I wished I couldn't feel a thing.

* * *

_Anthony Stark_

Loki walked away. He turned his back to me, fury flowing off of him like a woman's gown as he stormed across the floor and moved around the people in the crowd and out of sight. I couldn't find him anywhere and I ignored the whining and tie-pulling beside me. I moved my hand from the girl's ass as the men around me began to laugh and make crude jokes about Loki's sexual preference.

Little did they know that the majority of their words were actually true.

The girl beside me got fed up of being ignored after I attempted to paint the back of her throat with my tongue and made her own exist via stage right. The others laughed at me and I let them. After what I had done, I deserved every nasty, disgusting, button-mashing word they sent my way. I also knew that I would be getting an earful from Loki later, if he even decided to come back to my home and not fly back to New York earlier.

I ran a hand through the dark brown curls of the mop I called my hair and jumped back into the conversation with, "She wasn't that good of a kisser anyways. Probably would have sucked in bed, too."

"Bet she was a virgin." The other men cackled and wiped at tears forming in the corners of their eyes.

"Who was that Loki kid anyways?" The oldest man pulled a cigarette from his pocket and his arm-leech lifted a small flame to light the end for it. He took a deep drag on it before tilting his head back and blowing smoke circles into the air. He exhaled and waved a hand to disperse them. "You mentioned him a few times earlier."

"Oh, him?" I asked with a nonchalant shrug. "I just met him at one of my other galas back in New York. We talked, got to know each other. He's a really cool guy, but his temper is a little . . . short." I coughed as the others nodded in understanding.

"What's his profession? Translator? Secretary? Does he work for you or someone else?" The questions from my guests came at me rapid-fire. I took a swallow of scotch and held up a hand for them to be quiet and give me time to actually answer them.

"He didn't exactly specify what his profession was when we met," I lied, working the cogs in my brain to roll and creak and force out I lie I could wing without sputtering and stammering and giving away the truth. Telling them I was involved with a gay stripper would not do well for my image. "I think he said something along the lines of entertainment, like a talent scout or a producer."

That was surely something I could work with. I nodded to myself as the music playing overhead changed to something loud and upbeat with a strong bass that made the reactor in my chest vibrate every other second.

"Oh, really? Think you could convince him to speak with my daughter, then?" One of the younger men with black hair cut short pulled at his tie and leaned in close so that I would be able to hear him over the sudden blaring song. "She's trying to become an actress – pity, I know – but she won't give it a rest until someone looks at her and lets her audition. Just get the boy to tell her she doesn't have the talent or something along those lines. I'm getting tired of hearing her whine about not being the next Beyoncè."

The music's tune kicked up a bit, and it was noticeable enough to catch the attention of everyone in the room. People were hooting and hollering and whistling to show their approval of the song change. At least, that was what I was aware of until the man whom had inquired details about Loki's "job" gasped and his mouth gaped open, a look of complete and utter shock coming over his features. Wondering what he was making a big deal about, I looked over towards the center of the room.

That was when I saw that his reaction was more appropriate than mine.

Of all the damn people to do the damnedest things, Loki was _standing_ on one of the serving tables, which had been completely cleared of food so that the only things that remained were the tablecloth and the ice sculpture someone had commissioned. I couldn't remember what it was supposed to look like (Iron Man, I think) because it had melted.

Loki was currently barefoot, having thrown his shoes and socks to the wind and was currently shimmying his shoulders out of his jacket, the one I had given him to wear for tonight. He draped it over the shoulders of the melting ice statue and raised his arms over his head, moving his hips to the beat of the damn song. A small crowd began to gather at the table, and the others who were "more refined" stood where they were and refused to move.

Then he began to unbutton his shirt, and a slim young man moved closer to the table, grinning up at Loki with obvious intent in his eyes. Loki seemed to pick up on it because once his shirt was unbuttoned, hanging open to show off his midsection, he slipped his scarf off, wrapped it around the young man's neck, and pulled him in. Their lips crashed together sloppily, and the crowd around them roared and cheered. From where I was standing, I could see Loki's tongue darting out to touch the man's lips before they proceeded to kiss as if they had been lovers for years.

What was it that I could feel burning the back of my throat? Why was it I was becoming sick to my stomach? I didn't bother questioning it. Red swirled in my vision before I stormed over and separated the two myself, watching with disgust as Loki slipped his tongue back between his wet lips and smiled at me. It wasn't a cute smile, either. That smile told me he knew just what the hell he was doing and that my reaction to the situation was exactly what he had been looking for.

There went any possibility of me keeping this asshole away from the cameras as people's phones were whipped out and flashes from cameras went off. I ignored the cameras and grabbed onto the back of his collar, pulled him uneasily from the table. He stumbled but kept his footing. I dragged him towards the exit and out of the concert hall while spectators whispered and videos were uploaded to the internet. I would probably find the kiss on You Tube later.

The paparazzi outside were having mind-blowing orgasms to find me walking towards them with a half-dressed man without his shoes. Cameras flashed, and I responded by pulling out J.A.R.V.I.S.'s wireless and destroying their cameras from the inside out. Their film would melt or their memory cards would shatter. Either way, the pictures taken would never leak from the press. They could have to Google it or some shit to find it.

The valet noticed me and hurried to pull the car around. I kept a tight grip on the back of Loki's neck as the valet jumped from the driver's seat and opened the passenger side door. I threw Loki inside and didn't bother shutting the door for him. The drive back to my home was silent. Anger and defeat and smugness mixed in the air and the tension was almost tangible enough to grab.

Once we were in the living room of the house, everything went to hell.

* * *

_Loki Laufeyson_

The conversation started off with Tony throwing his small handheld across his living room, pouring himself a generous amount of scotch, and taking a large swallow before sighing. Then, he said, "Care to explain what that whole little show was back there, with you _taking your clothes off in public_?"

I laughed to myself and slid my shirt off, throwing it over the back of the couch. "You and I met, what, almost two weeks ago in a strip club, and you're still surprised that I'm willing to take off my clothes for a little attention? You don't seem to know me as well as you claim." I smirked from where I was standing and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for a reply from him.

"It seems I don't," he admitted, throwing his hands up dramatically into the air. His drink sloshed over the rim of his glass and over his hands, but he didn't seem to actually care. He continued rambling. "It seems that everything I knew about you was entirely wrong."

"The same could be said for my side," I added, shifting my weight from one side to the other. "If I do recall, you said some rather promising things in bed last night. And the night before. And, hell, since the first day we arrived. But, of course, that I believed you was just naïveté."

"It was, actually." Tony set his drink down and moved away from the bar, standing a few feet away from me with a sour smile on his face. "I remember clearly telling you that I wasn't a nice person. Remember that? That was right before we went to the park and you told me a nice sob story about how your brother was better-liked and got more action in high school. Clearly, I can see why."

"Because I don't throw my dick at the first sign of someone showing interest in me?" I countered, watching with satisfaction as his smile twitched downward. It was my turn to smile. "I can see why Ms. Potts feels sorry for me now. Because she knew you better than anyone else. She was hurt, and she knew I would be, too. Women like her are smarter than we give credit for."

"Complimenting the opposite sex to make me jealous?"

"Not even in your sick, twisted dreams."

Tony laughed and covered his eyes, one hand on his hip. He sighed and then looked up at me; I wasn't sure if he was actually going insane or if he found my retort funny. Maybe he found this entire situation hysterical, and I was being played like a marionette with his fingers controlling my every movement, invisible strings pulling and tugging at my arms and legs. I wouldn't have been surprised.

"You are one hell of a manipulative bastard," he said, looking out the window. Tony turned his gaze back to me and held his hands out as he talked. "You know, when I read all those scathing, detailed articles on you, I was a little hesitant to bed you. Really, I was. I was worried you would have gotten me into the same situations as those other men, but I can see that was a fluke. You're not even worth a dime of that money. Those men must have been out of their damn minds . . ."

I opened my mouth to speak when I stopped. My words suddenly became an inaudible squeak as his words managed to process entirely in my mind. Articles. Money. Fuck.

". . . You think that's funny? That all of that was a joke?" I asked weakly, unable to form any sort of hateful retaliation to throw back at him. "You honestly think the only reason I showed any interest in you was for money? That I kept up this whole charade just to get into your pockets?"

"The first time you met me _was_ in a strip club where you took your clothes off for it."

"Have I _ever_ asked you for a fucking cent!?" I shook my head and put it in my hands, fighting the urge to break down. "This is what I get for giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Some lawless, selfish, egotistical bastard tells me a few sweet words and the next thing I know, my heart's being torn out of my chest and I am mocked." I shook my head, defeated.

"_You_'re mocked? Tell me how going in front of the press tomorrow to explain what the hell happened is going to affect _you_, because I would gladly trade places with you in an instant. I would love to see you go up there in front of everyone and explain what you were doing and why you thought it would be cute," Tony replied.

"I would gladly appear in front of the press to let them know that you met me at a gay club, that you and I dated and shared a few _intimate_ moments together. Yes, _that_ would get the heads turning, wouldn't it?" I shot back. "Maybe I should inform your secretary and let her know I would like to explain everything myself. Rather than let you up there with a few note cards. I could probably remember the story better than you."

Tony glared at me, his smile fading fast and his fists clenched at his sides. He was silent as his eyes looked over me, seeming as though he was trying to find something to prod at or a button to angrily abuse. I smiled sourly to myself and looked down to my feet.

"Get out," Tony said flatly. "I'm done playing this game, Loki."

"The feeling is mutual." His brows came together at my words. "Goodbye, Mr. Stark. If we meet again, I do wish that we pretend this 'relationship' never happened."

"I hope we _never_ meet again."

With those words to each other, we parted. I took my shirt up and fastened the buttons as I left. I didn't see Tony . . . Anthony's reaction to my exiting, but I did flinch from hearing the loud, echoing _BLAM_ from behind me and the tinkle of shattered glass raining down to the floor. I didn't want to turn, as much as my heart begged me to. To turn around and run back to him would make everything worse.

I entered the elevator to go down to the first level, and looked down at my clothes, all tailored for my measurements so that I wouldn't have to wear my one suit everywhere. It had been a gift from Anthony just that morning, which he had presented me with a large, giddy smile.

Angrily, I reached down and tore off a round white button from the bottom of the row. I dropped it onto the floor and stormed out of his home and into the warm, salty air of Malibu's midnight. What I was going to do for a place to stay, I didn't know nor did I give a damn. I was just ready to rid myself of my foolish hope.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **This chapter gave me some trouble; I'm rather shit at fillers. Hope these can keep you quenched until I have the next chapter finished! I apologize for such a long wait.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Loki Laufeyson_

**I thought alarm clocks or the sounds of construction were worse than waking up to some lonely woman licking my back.** Oh, gods, how wrong I was. I inwardly shuddered at the wet appendage trailing up my back and squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could to refrain from opening them and turning back around to greet my recent bed partner that morning. Her squishy, fake breasts poked me in the back as she snuggled up closer to me, arms wrapping tightly around me.

"Good morning," she said, sighing. My eyes rolled themselves but I returned the greeting. She gave my midsection a squeeze. "You have any place to go?" There was hope in her voice, hope that I would say no and she could "save me" and live out a Hollywood dream. Of course, I really didn't have anywhere I could go.

"Not at the moment," I confessed, and she laughed.

"I have work. But you're free to stay as long as you need to." She sat up and kissed my cheek, looking down at me. "Um, will you be here this afternoon?" She pushed blonde hair behind her ear, and I forced a sweet, sincere smile to my face. She took that as a yes, kissed me, and then jumped out of bed. I gave her privacy as she left for the bathroom and pulled the blankets around me.

As the sounds of the shower flowed into the room from the pipes trailing beneath the walls, I pulled my newly-cleaned underwear and pants from a nearby dresser where they had been folded and clothed myself from the waist down. Her handmaids must have come later in the night when we weren't in the "throes of passion" and washed them. They smelled strongly of citrus and made my nose itch.

I buttoned the shirt up to cover myself, my fingers ghosting over the fabric where I had ripped the button from the night before. My regret over damaging possibly one of the few good pieces of clothing I owned at the moment faded as I realized that the button had been replaced.

I returned to the side of the bed I had slept on and crossed my legs, looking over the large city from the wide windows of the woman's bedroom. I could stay as long as I needed, she had said. How long would that be? I made a mental pact with myself to make it no longer than one more night, even if I had to lie my way through the front door.

My first priority was to get into contact with Thor, explain the situation I was currently in, and find a way to get back home in New York without using Anthony's help. I ran a worried hand through my tangled, greasy hair and bit my tongue. How the hell was I going to get myself out of this situation?

The shower cut off and I could hear cloth moving around behind the door. My stomach clenched as the door opened, and the sound of heavy feet fell onto the carpet. She poked her head down, towel wrapped around her hair and a robe tied tightly against her body. She was smiling.

"You look worried," she said, sitting down beside me. "Something wrong?"

"Um . . ." I wrung my hands and sighed heavily. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, knowing that I'd have to get a touch intimate and tell her about my family, which she will positively love. "Well, I – I need to get into contact with my brother. He doesn't know I'm here. With you, I mean."

She smiled at me and patted my arm. "Borrow my phone!" She jumped up as a young maid, Asian in race, handed her her clothes for the day and walked away quickly to avoid further orders. "I'll be leaving in about twenty minutes. Like I said, you're welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thank you very much."

I smiled at her as she kissed my cheek and pranced off to change her clothes. I waited for her to disappear into the front (back?) of her house and nearly lunged for the phone. I punched our number into the keypad and sat with the phone pressed hard against my ear. We didn't have an answering machine at home, so the phone continued ringing and my leg began to kick up and down with nerves. After a few moments, the phone had rung almost twenty times, and I was ready to throw myself through the window.

I hung up, redialed the number, and waited again for Thor to answer. My bedmate's voice echoed into the room as she called goodbye, and I tapped my fingers against my knee. The phone's ringing finally cut off as a groggy, deep voice growled, "Hello?"

"I'm guessing you don't work weekends?" I joked, mentally picturing the realization washing over Thor's face. He sputtered on the other end, trying to collect his thoughts. I allowed him a few moments to recollect himself before he spoke.

"You've done something stupid," he accused, jumping right to his point. "Your stunt at Stark's party is all over the place. Remember your old suitors? They're dragging your name through the dirt as we speak. They've got creative writers working for them, apparently. I didn't know you were a 'drug addict.'" Thor's voice was laced with bitter sarcasm. I was surprised that I wasn't surprised. "What happened to you?"

"Stark expressed his thoughts on our 'relationship' through his actions. I retaliated as I saw fit." I swallowed a regretful lump in my throat and said stiffly, "Thor, I want to come home. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of _everything_. I'm tired of being tired."

"Then come home." I could hear the wall creak as Thor possibly leaned his weight against it. "There's nothing stopping you from returning home."

"No money," I replied, and he grew silent. I remained so as well, pulling a leg up to my chest to rest my arm and chin on. I wiggled my toes inside of a few sheets that I had managed to wrap around my foot. The silence between us was agonizing, and I finally broke it by saying, "Thor, maybe I should stay here. I mean, with my job experience as a dancer, or my degree, I could probably find a job without even trying. I'll be fine here."

"_What_?" Thor sounded almost angry, insulted even. His voice rose, and if Jane was with him (as I was sure she was), then she was probably scrabbling out of bed to see what her lover was so upset about. "No, Loki, it took me nearly six years to find you after you left. You think I'm going to let you just disappear off the face of the earth?"

"There's nothing you could do if I did," I replied smugly. "We're thousands of miles apart, a whole country between us, and you haven't the funds to get a plane ticket to California, snatch me up, and get tickets back to New York for the both of us." I picked at the hem of my pants. "Besides . . . things will be easier for you."

"And what the hell makes you think that?"

"Well, you have one less mouth to feed. And a lower electric and water bill." I chuckled at my jokes, knowing that they were true. "The point I'm making, Thor, is that you can have that 'perfect life' Odin and Frigga wanted you to have, and I can disappear. It'll be perfect."

"It will _not_ be perfect. Loki, you did something stupid. I'm sure Stark did something stupid as well." Thor sighed heavily, and I could imagine him running his hands through his tangled, disheveled blond hair, and I heard a growl. "Hell, you're both stupid. I know you're stupid from experience. Remember the worms?"

I smiled to myself. "I do. You're not going to make some deep, philosophical metaphor with me and the worms are you? If you are, please stop before you're ahead."

"No, Loki, I'm not going to do that." Thor chuckled on the other end. "I heard Stark was going to have a press conference about your behavior. You should be there, explain what really happened. People deserve second chances."

"Not assholes." I scoffed.

"Did he explain his actions?"

"He didn't need to."

"Clearly, he did." Thor growled. I knew I was being difficult. He hated it when I was difficult. "And you need to explain yours as well."

"Make me," I challenged.

Thor sighed heavily on the other end, the breath leaving crackling static in my ear, and he muttered, "Don't tempt me."

* * *

_Anthony Stark_

"You're an idiot."

Was I surprised to hear those words the very first thing in the morning? No, I was not. Was I surprised to hear them from Pepper? Not really. Was I expecting to open my eyes, have sunlight pour down from the fucking windows and nearly blind me, and send the dull throb of my head into a sharp pain that sent stars behind my eyes? You bet your ass I wasn't.

I yelped and covered my eyes, groaning as the burning of my eyes was proceeded by a painful, aching throb in the back of my eyes and skull. The simple tapping of Pepper's shoes against the linoleum flooring made me want to throw myself from the top of the building into the churning water below the cliff.

"Pepper, please stop tapping your foot. My head's pounding," I say as she steps closer. "Why is it that every time I'm around him, I always end up drunk off my ass and end up miserable the next day?"

"Because you're an idiot," she repeated, taking a seat beside me and scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Your press conference is this evening. It's scheduled for seven o'clock, so don't be late. Your public image would look worse."

"Do I really even need to bother with 'public image' at this point, Pep? Everyone pretty much knows about Loki and me now. Why bother?" I laughed and leaned my head back, closing my eyes. Bad idea. Gonna puke. Sit back up, sit back up. I swallowed hard and fought the urge to vomit as Pepper instantly recognized the look of nausea and ran off. A few moments later, pills and water were forced into my hand.

"Because no one actually knows if you two had anything going on. You can play it off as a family friend getting drunk and losing his mind, right?"

I rubbed my sore eyes and sent Pepper a harsh look that said everything I was thinking. I wasn't exactly sure what I had been thinking, and I guessed that my stern glare towards Pepper did nothing to move her. She returned it, the look in her eyes more sure than my own, and I broke our stare.

"Take today off and rest," she suggested. "I'll send Happy after you at six o'clock. Please be ready by then, Tony." She seemed to linger around a few moments more than she needed but rushed off in the next instant.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I swallowed the pills and downed the water without much hesitation. I carefully placed the glass of water onto the table and eased myself down on the couch, throwing my arm over my eyes to block out the light. "J.A.R.V.I.S., mind tinting the windows a bit? I'm going blind."

"_At least you haven't thrown acid in your face and damaged yourself on purpose_." The reference was unexpected, as well as the laugh that followed. I let the grin come to my face as the lights dimmed and I was able to stare up at the ceiling without nearly losing my ability to see.

"Acid would probably have hurt less." I closed my eyes again.

Last night's events played in my head. My lip-locking with a girl front of Loki. Loki dancing to the tune of "Time Warp" on a table without his shoes. My mistakes. Loki's mistakes. Hell, we were both acting like stupid-ass high schoolers. I clenched my hand, relaxing it instantly as a sharp pain radiated from my palm.

I held my hand up, staring up at a blood-crusted hand and a thin laceration that cut from my thumb up to my middle finger. It hurt like a bitch, but it hadn't bled much, and was quite thin, almost like a paper cut. A small layer of skin that folded back when I brushed a finger across it showed that it hadn't been deep. The raw layer beneath it stung and I pulled my hand away.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., do you have video of what happened last night?"

"_I do, sir. What would you like me to do with it_?"

"Delete it." I sat up slowly, thankful for the affects of the medicine already beginning to kick in. My stomach didn't roll as horribly as it had done the first time. "I don't want a reminder of what happened last night. If the news is talking about it, I don't want to see it. I don't want to hear _anything_ about Loki ever again. In fact, anything on file about Loki, delete."

"_Shall I delete his number and address as well_?"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., did I stutter?" I glared up at a camera that was whirring as it turned itself onto me.

"_No, sir, you didn't._" There was a short silence. It seemed to crawl by with my impatience. "_Memory deleted. Anything on Loki Laufeyson has been wiped from the circuit board_."

I lied back down against the couch arm, interweaving my fingers across my chest. Stressed was a euphemism for what I was feeling at the moment. There was no word in any mundane language to describe how I was feeling at the moment. I could have destroyed the entire house and built it up from the very foundation and I would still not be able to relax.

With my eyes closed, I could recall the entire night in detail again, but this time I refused to open my eyes. Where could I have fixed things? What could I have done to prevent stupidity? Well, the obvious answer was to not have shown up in the first place. That would have done wonders.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., time."

"_It's half-past two, sir. You slept until one forty-five._"

I closed my eyes and decided I wouldn't bother with thinking about Loki anymore. The past was the past, and I would learn to get over it.

"Put on some Black Sabbath for me, will you?" I asked, ignoring the small voice in my head that told me I would regret that decision the second it was carried out. "I feel like being a little masochistic as I prepare myself for this evening. Care to join me?"

"_I do care, sir._" There was a pause. "_But I suppose that I have no choice._ _What would you like to listen to?_"

"Whatever sounds appropriate to you." I stood carefully, watching so that I wouldn't knock my knees against the edge of the coffee table. "I'm about to get myself into some deep shit."


End file.
